New Year 2026 Flower Count at Charlton House Gardens

On a perishingly cold day – encouraged by a wintry sun – the intrepid Garden Volunteers ventured out on their mission to spot which brave flowers are showing off in the gardens this new year, 2026.

This is the third year we have undertaken a flower count, so we should know roughly what to expect. UK weather data shows that 2025 was the sunniest on record, and probably the warmest too. Here in the depths of winter, it’s easy to forget the unprecedented spring sunshine and incredibly hot summer that we’ve had. This is bound to have disrupted plant lifecycles and confused some into flowering at the wrong time.

One of the strangest sights for me were the Echinops, globe thistles, in the Long Garden, which have clearly decided to skip winter and spring and go straight for summer again. And whatever are those Achillea, Betonica and Geraniums thinking?

There are some more normal behaviours, such as the Virburnums, primroses and hellebores which, although earlier than years ago, we have got used to seeing around about now.

And then there are the all rounders, like Daisies and Fleabanes or weeds like Hairy Bittercress, Sow Thistle and Black Nightshade – these are opportunists, which think weather doesn’t apply to them.

Our winter wander covered the Old Pond Garden, then into the Long Garden & Rockery, the Glade and shrubberies, then into the Peace Garden. We included the front beds and front shrubbery on our way to a warm-up in Frilly’s café!

Thank you to everyone who came along, a wonderfully gentle way to get back into the gardening spirit, after all that Christmas relaxation and idleness. It’s also a great way to reconnect with your own garden: looking closely for flowers can open your eyes to what’s there even in the depths of winter – if you do a flower count today, do let us know what you find.

Normal Volunteering resumes next week!

You can see the full list here:

Kathy A