RHS Wisley – life and death in the Surrey hills… Hydrangeas, Camellias and Hellebores, mostly, Sorbus and Malus, Cornus, Salix and Rubus, Acer, Rhododendron, Chimonathus, Henry Moore and a Squirrel

Acer griseum, lauded for its peeling bark, caught here in the chill morning sunlight on the slopes of Battleston Hill at the RHS gardens at Wisley. The gardens feature the remnants of many fine plants, dying beautifully, hydrangeas foremost in this class, as well as the heralds of a new season, with the earliest hellebores and camellias adding vibrant colour to the landscape.

A fine stand of Hydrangea paniculata Vanille Fraise – photographed in full colour earlier in the year and still forming a significant presence in the winter garden.

Some species maintain their bulk, substantial elements in the gardens still – others give up almost everything, a fine tracery of veins all that remains –

Work in the big herbaceous borders, you can see the bulk of the hydrangeas on the slopes in the distance

Bare stems and bone white, but by no means bleak – Rubus biflorus has…