Tony Milne of RMM Landscape Architects reflects on the quieter amenity of gardens in winter and what the colder months can reveal about good landscape design.

For Tony, a winter garden offers a different kind of experience. Deciduous trees reveal their structure, paths and hedges become more pronounced, while weathered materials, seed heads and grasses take on a beauty of their own. Rather than disguising the season, Tony appreciates gardens that allow winter to be winter.

Winter can also be an honest critic, exposing weak structure, poor proportion and planting chosen only for a brief display. Beyond the visual, Tony sees the value of winter gardens as emotional – reminding us that restraint can be beautiful and that a garden need not be at its most abundant to be at its most generous.

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