Snowdrops In All Their Glory

A North Devon garden comes into its own during winter

- Catherine Courtenay

STOOD in Jo Hynes’ garden in the depths of winter, there are masses of green shoots everywhere I look, forcing their way up through the soil; you can almost feel the energy in the earth beneath your feet.

Beautiful at any time of the year, Higher Cherubeer is particularly noted as a winter garden and it attracts plenty of visitors for the National Garden Scheme open gardens events. It’s filled with colourful winter stems, hellebores, ferns and Jo’s collection of snowdrops and cyclamen – she has amassed around 300 named snowdrops and is a National Collection holder for cyclamen.

This garden near Dolton took 12 years to create, a labour of love for Jo and husband Tom, but it feels like it’s been here forever thanks to its naturalistic style; there are plenty of mature trees in wooded areas, stone walls and native hedgerows, and a lush carpet of undergrowth.

There’s a deep connection between garden and gardener and the zest for life you feel at Higher Cherubeer is witnessed in Jo too. She’s full of energy, but not in a frenzied way. Rather like her plants, Jo is patient, but determined – you feel there’s no stopping her when she gets an idea.

Jo and Tom moved to Devon from Buckinghamshire almost 30 years ago for Tom’s work as an environmental conservation officer. Initially looking for a big garden, they ended up buying a farm. A new job, 50 acres and two young children in tow, you’d think there was enough to do, but they set about designing and creating a garden out of the sloping field at the back of the house.

“I hate housework,” confesses Jo. “Both of us wanted to be outside all the time and we’d always wanted to open for the NGS, it’s such an excellent charity.”