Is there ever a time that you don’t feel better from walking around a garden?

Rosie Fyles, Head of Gardens, at Chiswick House & Gardens, writes on plants, nature, seasons: the latest from our local green haven every month.  

Written for The Chiswick Calendar.

Even in the unrelenting, driving, winter rain that comes from all sides, under your boots and above, the act of walking amongst trees, looking at the sky, hearing the birds, I hope, lifts your spirits. It does mine, when I switch off the ‘to do’ list and remember, a garden is to enjoy… 

A gardener’s contribution to any of our visitors ‘feeling better’ is just one thing that compels us out of bed before 6am on a January morning, even when the ground is too hard to break, stems and buds are frozen and the sensible thing to do is to work inside. In fact, January 2026 saw the first ever ‘gardeners all working from home day’ at Chiswick in my tenure. Spring and summer were on our minds as plans took shape and ideas became series of written tasks to do from February onwards. 

December was a busy month. A lack of frosts – and an ability to ignore the greyest of rainy days – meant that nearly 700 plants found a new home on the banks of the cascade and terrace. Inspired by the 18th century visionary William Kent who sought to create an Italian or Greek hillside by the Thames, the planting scheme heralds sunnier days ahead – look out for pomegranates, more junipers, bright yellow, long-flowering Phlomis and if luck is on our side, giant, pompous fennel. 

Ionic Temple. Photo by Freya Willetts.My fondness for Kent’s ambition (and folly?), led me to order two of his favourites: huge, trees – a Scots pine and a stone pine. Deep in ‘design mode’, I thought, somehow, we will find a way of giving these two a home high above the gardens to reach above any planning permitted building and stand aloft for nature. The new year reality has kicked in and I’ve identified a safer, less folly-like planting location, next to their predecessors by the Ionic Temple, some bold successional planting to last for the next three centuries. It’s a happy compromise. 

The best thing about 2025? The people we found to work in the gardens. Our new grounds contractor, Groundwork, a green skills charity has brought enthusiasm, energy, and learning as they care for the large spaces, the lawns, paths and hedges. Already, two trainees have graduated from the gardens of Chiswick. Sharing skills, encouraging growth (not just in plants) and offering a space on a team is one of the best parts of my role. 

Kate joined the garden team in summer having previously had a career in accountancy. During early 2026, she will be spending some time with the camellias in the gardens, recording their flowering and planning their ongoing care and pruning. While the conservatory houses some well-known specimens, so does the Chiswick ‘shrubbery’ and part of Kate’s role is to integrate the outdoor collection of camellias within the overall planting, for nature and for an enjoyable walk. 

In 2026, what’s going to make us all feel better in the gardens? This spring really should be the best yet. We have planted almost 40,000 bulbs, taking the total in the last three years up into the 100,000s. From spring right through summer, the Kitchen Garden will have its busiest growing season with more space cultivated than ever. The productive glasshouse is currently undergoing its next stage of renovation, enabling many more tomatoes to thrive. There will also be roses flowering from May-October. 

And, perhaps most importantly, in September, the ‘Learning Hub’ will launch, providing thousands of local school children with a space to learn about growing food, the beauty of flowers and the joy of being outside. We will open the doors straight into the gardens. The project has been all-consuming over the last three years, and we will all take pride in its fruition and the impact it will have in decades to come. In fact, because of it, we can all feel better. 

What I’m doing in my own garden this month: 

Honestly, almost nothing. Clearing up the dogs’ contributions, filling up the birdfeeders and peaking at the bulbs poking their heads up. Lazy, reflective weeks before the fun starts. 

What to look out for in the gardens:  

New ‘habitat trees’ by the café. We have major plans for new planting, seating and social space but while we seek support for them, we are showing you where the trees will go, illustrating the stature that they will give by using fallen wood. Instant ‘zombie trees’, Countryfile called them.