Monday 3rd March saw the historic Milntown Estate once again open its Gardens for the 2014 season that will run until the end of October.

The winter months have been all about planting at Milntown, some of the borders in the walled gardens have been renovated, removing overgrown clumps of herbaceous perennials, replenishing the soil and replanting new varieties that have been produced in Milntown’s own nursery.

As the central areas of the walled garden are full of herbaceous perennials and seasonal plantings, such as many colourful Dahlias, they are quite high maintenance. So these new plantings are low maintenance, and almost all are evergreen perennials with contrasting foliage colours and shapes.

Further shrub plantings have been made in several areas, with many new varieties adding to the growing collections of plants at Milntown. This Spring there will be new plantings of Camellias in the woodland areas. Camellias grow especially well at Milntown, enjoying the shelter and microclimate of the gardens. We will be introducing thirty new varieties, including new cultivars bred in New Zealand and the USA, rare species from China, varieties from the 1800’s and Camellia sinensis, the plant that gives us our daily cup of tea!