Digging for Dirt
Behind the scenes with the team at Winterbourne House and Garden
Birmingham | Broken clouds 
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17°C
Opening hours:
10:30am
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5:00pm
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Gardener vs squirrel
We’re all familiar with the typical garden pests – aphids, slugs, and snails – but our Head Gardener Dan is currently having some trouble with pests of the furrier variety: grey squirrels. In the battle between gardener and squirrel, who will win? As spring continues to paint Winterbourne with its vibrant hues, we find ourselves…
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Recipe: Woolton pie
Woolton pie is a comforting dish that harks back to an era of wartime ingenuity and homegrown sustenance. Originally designed to be nutritious and make the most of easy-to-grow root veg, this cheap and cheerful recipe can be adjusted according to what’s in season. Feel free to swap the vegetables below with any personal favourites.…
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Object of the month: Vane & Schofield plaque
Sometimes objects literally come out of the woodwork. During a clear-out of one of the workshops a few years ago, this little brass plaque was discovered. Nobody knew where it had come from. When we started to investigate, we realised that it could be a relic from the time of John Nicolson, Winterbourne’s last private…
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Creating a growing legacy
For the past 80 years, Winterbourne’s garden has been in the hands of University of Birmingham. Before then, it was lovingly tended to by Winterbourne’s last private owner, John Nicolson. Head Gardener Dan reflects on how Nicolson’s impact has shaped the garden into the one so beloved by all who tread its paths today. I…
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The last man behind Winterbourne: the life of John Nicolson
John Macdonald Nicolson (1869 – 1944) was a passionate gardener, and it was likely the extensive garden that attracted him to Winterbourne when it came up for sale in 1925. He was responsible for some of the garden’s most popular features, including the Japanese bridge and tea house, and the pergola. In this article, archives…