A year in Evenley Wood

Winter

The New Year begins with a flurry in Evenley Wood as some 80 named varieties of snowdrop, spread throughout the wood, show their heads above the cold ground. These are accompanied by displays of early daffodils, hellebores and snowflakes as the flowering season begins.       
 

Spring

Early spring sees the emergence of many more daffodils along with chinodoxa and several varieties of scilla including the scilla sibirica that comprise the wood’s recently extended scilla ‘stream’ which will eventually wind its way for some 800 yards through the wood. These are followed by a large collection of magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas as the wood enters what is perhaps its most colourful season.

Summer

As the spring flowering magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas begin to fade, summer at Evenley Wood comes to life with splashes of colour provided by ornithogalum, cardiocrinum, and many climbing roses. With over 150 different varieties, including many species, it is perhaps the wood’s lilies that provide this season’s most spectacular show.

With its number spanning all the hybrid types, Evenley Wood houses what is quite possibly the largest collection of lilies growing outdoors in UK today. These are set amongst other notable collections of oak, apple, pear and euonymus in what is the very natural setting of the garden.

Autumn

As the annual gardening cycle slows down, autumn in Evenley Wood holds its own magic with a wonderful display of colour shown in the leaf, bark, seeds and berries of the garden’s plant collection. Ranging from beautiful rustic oranges and fiery reds to greens, gold and brown, the leaves of the wood’s oaks, maples, witch hazels and beech provide plenty for the eye to see along with the fruits and berries of plants such as euonymus and cotoneaster.

Wildlife and Walks

Evenley Wood is also home to huge array of wildlife. Over the past 15 years, 80 species of birds have been spotted in and over the wood and the garden will again host a Dawn Chorus event in spring 2009. Extensive surveys of moths, butterflies, mosses and liverworts have also been carried out, the details of which can be seen on the garden website.