Finding spring inspiration at Hillier gardens….

At the end of the winter many of us find our gardens looking drab, so it’s a good time to go in search of inspiration at public gardens to find ideas we can translate into our designs and planting plans. Hillier gardens near Romsey did not disappoint us.

Here are a few of the beauties we found:

architectural outline of a winter tree with a carpet of cyclamen below

early spring sunshine makes the flowers of these Helleborus orientalis seem to glow;

contrasting textures and shapes provide visual interest even without flower colour – we love the mat of Ophiophogon planiscapus beneath these trees and the way they contrast with the box balls scattered in the distance.