Winter casualties, new changes and garden progress

It’s been a while since I last reported on activities in the garden so at last I have a spare moment to update.
The sad news must have filtered through about the felling of our giant Wingnut tree.From tree surveys we found that the core or the basal trunk had rotted and had spread out into the root system. An estimated 20 tonnes of timber siting on top could have had fatal consequences so action had to be taken. One positive thing from this is that the light levels have improved in the walled garden and more open views can be seen across the garden.
New this winter will be the re-styled ticket office,designed to echo the ‘old colonial restaurant’ with wooden exterior and red tin roof.This will also be at a new location from the tea garden into the Victorian garden to help the visitor flow. Once we have had the remaining tree stump ground out we will landscape the area with new planting schemes.
The first half of this winter has been extremely mild and we saw a record number of Camellias in flower even on Christmas day. The cold snap eventually got to us in late January, browning off some of the early flowers and soft young growth.There is still a lot more colour to come even though some of the Magnolia campbellii trees have done their bit in a sudden blaze of colour. The golden Pheasants are also contributing to the late winter colour with their vibrant golden orange capes and red head dresses, all brightening up a dull winters day.