Abbey Garden Diaries Jan 2025
Garden Student Alice Thompson on finding joy in January
January has a notoriously bad reputation; dark, dreary, and a reluctant return to the grind. The garden is at a stage of dormancy whilst we watch daily for signs of life from the twittering of birds, the evening light expanding incrementally and hints of bulbs pushing their way through the ground to remind us that spring is on its way.
Tresco Abbey Garden, however, is unlike most other gardens in the mainland UK. It’s plant range originates from the Mediterranean basin, boasting species from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Southern Europe and South America. Although the weather may still be temperamental with rain and strong winds at any given moment, Tresco’s milder climate allows plants from these regions to thrive. Coming from gardens on the mainland, where the autumn and winter months mostly involve letting herbaceous perennials turn shades of brown, show off their seed heads and then die back to nothing, the swathe of evergreen plants at Tresco Abbey Gardens makes me feel like we have almost cheated winter. It isn’t peak season for floriferous plants in the garden here at Tresco, but as the longer days approach the garden is slowly becoming more and more full with colour.
It's hard to miss the cascading flower spikes of the Aloe arborescens at this time of the year. They cover most of the slanted walls and beds across the middle and top terraces of the garden, with their brightly coloured torch light flowers beaming out across the garden. It’s a magical sight, particularly to someone who has never had the chance to see Aloes flowering.
To add to the bright colours in the garden contrasting with an otherwise grey January, dotted throughout the top terrace is possibly my favourite Leucadendron - Leucadendron laureolum. It is a winter flowering shrub from South Africa providing interest with its bright golden foliage zinging in amongst the evergreen canopies. It also makes a lovely golden addition to a bouquet.
Before coming to Tresco, I was unaware of South African heathers and the vast number of species within this genus. So many of the Ericas growing here have been flowering since I arrived, but one I urge you to see now is Erica canaliculata. It is a large shrub scattered with sprays of small white flowers covering any inkling of green underneath. Along with the Leucadendrons, I’ve been using them in cut flower bouquets.
Moving away from the top and middle terraces down on to the crossways, I’ve been hypnotised by the white flowers of Drimys winteri. Every time I walk past, I end up taking another photo of the delicate little flowers, propped up on deep red stems. It is endemic to the temperate rainforests of Chile and Argentina and is known for being able to grow in a wider variety of locations including extreme drought and wetlands. This makes it an amazing plant for the ever-changing climate that we are experiencing, being able to subsist in extreme weather conditions.
Coleonema pulchellum is another shrub that I’m excited to see flowering. It’s known commonly as the South African Confetti Bush producing tiny white or pink flowers on the ends of lime green foliage. It’s a familiar plant in the garden working as an informal hedge along the bottom of Neptune’s steps, whilst also creating mound-like structures in borders contrasting with the more common darker foliage of surrounding plants.
It would be remiss of me not to include Clianthus puniceus, a sprawling shrub commonly known as Kākābeak (or parrot’s beak) endemic to New Zealand. Its flowers look like red chill peppers - or to some, a lobster’s claw - and dangle in clusters from its definitively Fabacaeae (pea family) foliage. When it first came up on one of our plant ident’s, I was sure it originated from Chile or somewhere in South America. My understanding of New Zealand plants has always been associated with shades of green and brown like Corokias, Pittosporums and Coprosma. It is now considered an endangered species very rarely found in the wild.
It's so hard to choose plants to write about because there are so many flowering now that provide winter interest. Chasmanthe aethopica, Aeonium arboreum ‘Atropurpureum’ and Roldana petasitis are quickly coming into bloom whilst the Camellias are winding down after a month of heavy flower production. I cannot forget to mention the magnificent Proteas in which some species seem to flower all year round, giving the red squirrels a sweet treat. There are even Narcissus ‘Scilly White’ flowering in front of the chicken’s coop, providing a homely comfort, amongst the subtropical flora I’m slowly coming to know and love.
