Blog
Read our latest updates, stories from the house and garden, and get to know the people who bring Winterbourne to life.
Birmingham | Few clouds 
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16°C
Opening hours:
10:30am
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5:00pm
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OPEN
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Plant spotlight – Foxglove
Our new borders on the Arboretum Lawn are now into their second full summer and really starting to fill out and mature. Tall spires of pink and white foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) planted last year are now beginning to flower for the first time and look fantastic in combination with the giant exploded star shaped flowers
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Plant spotlight – Selenicereus grandiflorus, ‘Queen of the night’ Copy
The first cultivated species of Selenicereus grandiflorus is mentioned by Carl von Linne (Linnaeus) in 1753, where he described it as the largest flowered species of cacti known at the time. However, it was introduced to Europe well before this, with historical records at Hampton Court Gardens mentioning it growing there prior to 1700. Native
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Plant Spotlight – Auriculas
Auriculas as we know them today are descendants of a hybrid between 2 European alpine primulas; the Primula auricula, or bear’s ear, and Primula hirsuta or European alpine primrose. They are thought to have been grown in UK gardens since the latter half of the 16th century and are mentioned in Gerard’s herbal of 1597.
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Plant Spotlight – Gunnera
There is a certain Jurassic and prehistoric look to the leaves of the stately Gunnera manicata, which is why the plant is also nicknamed ‘Dinosaur Food’. The plant itself is thought to be 150 million years old and it is easy to imagine large species of dinosaur munching on its leaves millions of years ago!
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What are we reading?
There’s no hiding the fact that the Winterbourne team are all avid book worms, we’ve a second hand bookshop on site and are regularly swapping books we’ve enjoyed between us. We thought we would share what we’ve been reading during lock down to keep us entertained. Let us know if you have any recommendations