What’s looking good at RHS Bridgewater?

Tulips provide a divine colour palette from early April to late May in the Kitchen Garden. Creating impressive displays can be challenging as the bulbs are a favourite snack of the local grey squirrels. We’ve tried several techniques to protect them; our most successful is mulching the cut-flower tulip beds with manure. These were the only beds to be left ‘untouched’. We’ve employed the same trick to our pots, and so far, so good. Elsewhere, in the Hot Border, enjoy a fiery mix of tulips and perennials, where the colours shift through vibrant yellows, intense oranges and burning reds.

Now at its peak, the breathtaking cherry Prunus ‘The Bride’ is smothered with blossom in the Paradise Garden – it’s one of our most asked about plants. Later this month, dramatic drifts of camassia float through fresh growth and weave around the beech columns surrounding the Lily Pond. The cool blue flower spikes of Camassia leichtlinii subsp. leichtlinii associate beautifully with the water feature and add to the feeling of serenity within the garden.

Drifts of more than 50,000 daffodils create a floral spectacle in the Orchard throughout spring. Planted over four years with help from our volunteers, 14 Narcissus cultivars give a succession of colour in soft cream, white and pastel yellow that complements the blossom of fruit trees and adds to the Orchard’s peaceful atmosphere. Narcissus ‘Topolino’, ‘Frosty Snow’ and ‘Silver Chimes’ are the stars from March into April, before scented white ‘Thalia’ and pheasant’s eye daffodil Narcissus poeticus var. recurvus put on an elegant finale.

April sees our collection of heritage pears blossoming in the Orchard, alongside local apples, plums, cherries, damsons and quince. When the walled garden was restored, 23 historic pear trees from the 1800s were discovered. The trees were too neglected to recover but material was taken from each tree and grafted onto new rootstocks. Now five years old, the new trees provide a beautiful, living link to the garden’s past. Discover more fruit trees in bloom in the Kitchen Garden, including our wonderful collection of wall-trained fruit.

Spring brings a feeling of anticipation to the Chinese Streamside Garden, where fresh foliage in varied shapes, textures and colours takes centre stage. It’s a lush mix of reds, purples, greens and limes from our many Acer palmatum cultivars, with striking splashes of flower colour from rhododendrons and Cercis chinensis ‘Avondale’ – its bare branches are cloaked in magenta blooms. Later this month, the candelabra primulas begin to bloom, with bright pink Primula pulverulenta giving a hint of the cacophony of colour to come.

April holds the promise of mouth-watering edibles to come in the Kitchen Garden. The ground has warmed up enough to allow direct sowing of a wide range of crops this month, such as carrots, late broad beans, beetroot, peas and salsify. Late frosts could still be an issue, so we use fleece where necessary. Among the wide variety of fruit and vegetables we grow is an expanding range of heritage cultivars to see which perform best in RHS Bridgewater’s northern climate.

Pushing through the earth with glowing red stems, the Plant Heritage National Collection of rhubarb wakes up from its winter slumber this month. An impressive 107 cultivars make up the collection: ‘Baker’s All Season’ is the earliest to send up shoots yet continues producing up to autumn, ‘Timperley Early’ is a local variety from the south of Manchester, and ‘Champagne’ has a lighter, sweeter taste, similar to forced rhubarb. In early spring, the emerging stems mingle with golden daffodils, including Narcissus ‘Cheerfulness’ and ‘Dutch Master’.

As the weather begins to warm up, the Bee and Butterfly Garden comes to life with the gentle humming of pollinators. The beds are packed with nectar- and pollen-rich plants selected from the RHS Plants for Pollinators scheme. Sit back and relax in this sunny spot surrounded by pots bursting with hyacinths, daffodils, tulips and pick up ideas to entice hungry insects to your own garden.