Catherine’s monthly photo blog: December

3 January 2022

Volunteer gardener and talented photographer Catherine Brightwood shares her thoughts and photos from the last month in the gardens.

Christmas has come and gone, and this is my last blog post of Furzey’s centenary year.  December saw a cold snap which left much of the garden frozen and dusted with snow.  I made the magical discovery of breath-taking icicles which had formed on tree branches above the small waterfall by the lake.  They caught my eye as they hung, shining and gleaming like glass.  I braved very cold feet, by getting into the stream in my wellies and walked up and under the trees to reach them.  Directly beneath the watery chimes, were droplets of water which had frozen like tiny glass marbles on the stones.  They were absolutely mesmerising.  More fleeting beauty that I felt very privileged to have seen.

As the cold snap continued, the lake froze.  I had never seen it frozen before and couldn’t help but giggle as the ducks flew in and skidded across the surface, leaving a trail of polished ice.  Luckily, part of the lake near the island hadn’t completely frozen, so they were able to find somewhere to paddle.  As the smell of the bonfire drifted across the Gardens, I walked up towards the tearooms to get a hot drink to warm me up.  I saw that a sprinkling of snow had settled gently on the beautiful, newly forming buds of our Rhododendrons.  Nestling deep within that frosty covering was the promise of spring blooms and warmer days.

You may remember how much I love our huge Gunnera plants.  In the height of summer, their enormous, vibrant green leaves tower above our heads.  At this time of year, the giant leaves are cut down and placed upside down over the stump to protect it from the cold.  I like to think of the plants as having their winter hats on.  In the trees nearby, mirroring the muted colour palette of the wilted Gunnera leaves on the winter soil, I found beautiful, delicate Lichens growing.  Lichens are a symbiotic collection of fungi and cyanobacteria or algae.  They are a keystone species in many ecosystems, and we have a wonderful array growing at Furzey Gardens.  One to look out for in the colder months.

I really enjoyed the job of lifting, splitting and replanting Candelabra primula plants this month.  They are one of my favourite plants in the Gardens.  In the spring, their delicate display of elegant flowers winds through beds.  Their tall stems support attractive whorls of stunning flowers in a tiered arrangement, in shades of pink, purple and yellow.  At this time of year, the plants reduce in size to just a few green leaves.  As I dug them out to split the plants, I was, once again, joined by an inquisitive robin.  With no fear, he hopped around me, greedily eating the worms and grubs exposed by my digging.  I adore how tame the robins are and have taken to bringing some sunflower hearts in my pocket to feed to them.  As well as leaving some small piles of seeds around the Gardens, I am aiming to get a robin to feed out of my hand in the next few months.

The seasons have come full circle.  Soon, the spring bulbs will be bursting through the soil and new leaves will start unfurling on shrubs and trees.  It has been an absolute pleasure to share my experiences volunteering as a gardener at Furzey over the last year.  I hope that I have managed to capture the magic and joy of this special place and that you feel inspired to volunteer, visit or fundraise to support the amazing work that The Minstead Trust does.  Furzey Gardens is a peaceful, joyful, magical place.  There really isn’t anywhere I’d rather be.