Category: autumn colours

Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in November

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 20, 2014
4 Comments on Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in November

The penultimate posting in my monthly look at how well our Avocet garden is looking is already here. We are aiming for an all year round garden so we hope this series will help us check up on how we are progressing. The first week of November has been so changeable with bright, mild days, windy chilly days, nights with near freezing temperatures and cloudy dull days. We can still get in the garden to potter but we have to be ready to grasp any opportunity.

As usual we shall begin our tour by the gateway at the end of the drive and take a glance into the garden where it borders the lane. Our newly planted boxes are now well-established. From the lane berries dominate in the shrubs and trees and below them leaf textures capture our interest.

The Beth Chatto garden lights up in the low autumn light and makes the Tulbaghia and Verbena flowers glow.

Leaves have been stripped from many of the shrubs and trees leaving skeletons of coloured stems and seed heads above grasses and coloured foliage of evergreen perennials. Fungi on the lawn are definite sign of the season.

The most colourful tree must be the Liquidamber. With luck it will keep its leaves until the new year.

As we pass the shed on the way into the back garden this little alpine Erodium catches the eye. But it is the much more fiery colours that draw us in for a closer look as we turn the corner and see the Shed Bed. The bright yellow petals of the Welsh Poppy, Meconopsis cambrica bring out the palest hues in the palmate leaves of the Ricine Plant, Ricinus cambriensis. The Ricinus is such a garden worthy annual, interesting in every possible way. Flowers, fruit, buds, leaves and stems. The heavily textured leaves begin life orange and metamorphose into the deepest bronze through every shade of red.

In the Tropical Border the white flowers show up well against the Persicaris deep purple foliage. By the pond in the Rill Garden the seedheads of this Clematis are just as white. Walking down the central pathway there are plenty of out of season blooms to spot. Rosa Teasing Georgia clambers over the arch with late flowering Sweet Peas and alongside the path an orange flowered Primula which is normally a late spring flowerer is performing now. In a pot alongside the path a Dahlia has produced a very late and very pink bloom.

Throughout the borders to the left of the central path grasses put on a strong performance in the autumn light. The cerise of the Lychnis coronaria looks brighter than ever. It has been in flower for months now.

Moving across the central path we can see the Chicken Garden and the Secret Garden, where there are still plenty of flowers to put on a colourful show.

When we take the path alongside the Spring Garden it is the fruit and berries that give extra interest for ourselves and for the Blackbirds and Thrushes. The Blackbirds seem intent in finishing off the Crataegus berries. The yellow berries of the Cotoneaster rothschildiana will last much longer. They are low on their list of favourites.

I shall finish my November look at our garden with these two photos both featuring yellow. On the left a very out of season Oxlip is flowering strongly while on the left the last of the Gazanias has dropped its petals to reveal a brightly coloured central boss. Next month I shall be considering our Avocet garden in December and my look at the garden in 2014 will have come full circle.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn plants, changing colours, colour, garden in autumn, late autumn, November, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees

autumn autumn colours climbing plants colours garden design garden designers garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials Italian style gardens light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture Piet Oudolf sculpture Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith trees

A Garden in October/November – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 12, 2014
1 Comment on A Garden in October/November – Trentham

We have now reached the penultimate posting in this series where we have been looking at how Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire have changed through the months during 2014. Since our last visit in September Autumn has taken a strong grip on the gardens. Many leaves have taken on their auutmn hues and many have fallen. But it is amazing how much colour there still is to enjoy, colours in late flowers, dried stems and seed heads.

We always cross over the gently arching suspension footbridge over the River Trent full of anticipation. On our visit in early November we were presented with a sea of yellows, where Piet Oudolf’s River of Grasses had been transformed by the passage of time into a river of liquid gold.

We wandered along the gravel path as it cut through the line of River Birch, Betula nigra in search of Oudolf’s prairie borders. These beautiful trees had already shed all their leaves but still drew our eyes as their bark was peeling and curling decoratively away from their trunks.

Once in amongst the prairie planting we immediately noticed that seed heads in every hue of brown and beige and bright patches of late colour had joined the lemons, mustards and golds of the grasses. Pale purples glowed in the dull light of autumn. This glow is their secret weapon to attract moths and other night flying pollinators.

The gardening team were hard at working replanting a section of one of the borders. It must be a never ending task. I suppose it gives them the chance to keep improving things as well as keeping the gardens in top condition.

Deep pinks and cerise of the Persicarias and the Knautias catch the eye of every visitor. They look so good against the neutral shades that dominate gardens in the autumn.

This lovely old Tulip Tree caught our attention. It is the oldest of its kind we have ever seen and a notice close by warned of the danger of falling branches. It must be susceptible to winter storms but should it fall it would make a wonderful natural bridge over the Trent. The dome of Hornbeam over a bench is now a golden dome.

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We made our way towards the formally planted Italian Parterre Garden, passing through an archway of Hornbeams on the way. Sunlight penetrated the coniferous plantings casting long shadows and creating bright patches. It lit up the little low box hedges of the knot garden.

The summer bedding in the parterre has been consigned to the compost heaps and winter/spring plants has taken their place, primulas and a deep red Bellis perennis.

We always enjoy our first look out over the Tom Stuart-Smith gardens. We were not to be disappointed today.

The autumn light emphasised the texture on this bronze sculpture and on the much newer tunnel archway which marks the way into the display gardens. It gave an all new look to the low slate walls around one of these gardens too. It again emphasised the texture but brought out extra colours too. The light similarly added colour to the plants and to the glass panels featured in another of the display gardens.

A wander back through the Stuart-Smith gardens gave us the chance to see the planting in a different light. As the afternoon had progressed the sun dropped down lower and was back-lighting the plants, giving a very different perspective.

The Rose Walk was still remarkably colourful with Roses, Cleomes and Verbena bonariensis still putting on strong performances. Butterflies and bees were still busy here too, the blooms having attracted them as they emerged hunting for sustenance as the temperatures rose slightly in the afternoon sunlight. You can see our long shadows cast across the border.

From the long metal pergola we looked back over the Oudolf gardens and at the shrubs nearby and the butter yellow leaves of the Wisteria climbing over the framework.

Now we can look forward to our final visit to Trentham for this year in readiness to publish the final episode in this series of posts. So far we have determined that gardens at Trentham are worthy of a visit any month of the year. Let us hope our December visit confirms it.

Tags garden design, garden designers, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees, Piet Oudolf, prairie gardening, prairie planting, prairies, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Garden, Trentham Gardens

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Queenswood Arboretum – Part Three – the Redwoods

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 9, 2014
2 Comments on Queenswood Arboretum – Part Three – the Redwoods

As we left the Oak Avenue behind and after we had enjoyed a quick look at the small Betula collection, we made our way slowly back to the car park. The sky began to get darker and drizzle began to fall. In the first shot included here you can see the bright autumn colours of the Birches through the line of huge pines. Many of them were small and still strongly guarded from the gnawing of the resident deer flock. I have also included a photo of one of the excellent, informative labels which is a great feature of this arboretum.

As the drizzle intensified we found some shelter under the older taller trees. We are not fans of conifers but we found this one fascinating with its long drooping needles. Pinus patula, better known as the Spreading Leaf Pine. Close by the strange but utterly beautiful cerise-flowered Euonymous europaeus glowed in the dull light.

Felled tree trunks afford the weary wanderer a resting place and wildlife a place to search for food. The cut ends revealed the ages of the trees when they were felled, the number of rings now exposed by the chainsaw give away its secrets.

We continued to come across interesting Acers such as this Red Snake-Bark Maple, Acer capillipes and we passed many other fascinating specimen trees on our way to the stand of Redwoods.

We were fascinated by the fruits of the Oriental Hornbeam and the Handkerchief Tree, Davidii involucrata. These two special trees were both fine specimens.

We followed the path as it dipped beneath the branches of the Handkerchief Tree and found ourselves in a different world, a darker world where light failed to penetrate. This meant that nothing grew beneath these Redwoods, giants of the tree world. We walked on a deep soft carpet of needles. The needles were gingery orange and seemed to glow in the gloom.

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A drainage ditch cut through the Redwoods. It must have recently flooded badly and eroded away soil exposing the roots of trees growing alongside on its banks. Some creative visitors had found a way across by using some ingenuity and creativity – they had built a bridge from branches.

Below are two pictures showing some unusual wildlife living beneath the Redwoods, on the left a mother bear searching for her youngster climbing a nearby tree and on the right a very rare Tree Hugging Jude the Undergardener.

After exploring the dark world under the Redwoods we were glad to get back into daylight. Even though drizzle continued to fall and grey skies hung heavy it seemed so much brighter under the deciduous trees. The final Acer we passed looked as if it was on fire. A fitting finale to our day at Queenswood. As I always write when we have discovered a new exciting place to visit, “We will definitely be back!”

So that is Queenswood, 64 acres of wonderful trees from all over the world. Follow any of its waymarked trails and you will discover such a huge variety of trees, varying in size, growth habit, leaf shape, bark texture with some bearing flowers followed by berries, seeds or nuts. The bird life keeps you entertained too, singing and calling in the tree tops and undergrowth and flitting from tree to tree seeking out this vast array of food. Throughout our walk Ravens cronked overhead in unison with the gentler mewling of Buzzards. Whenever you visit there will be birds to entertain you and trees to delight the eye.

Tags acers., arboreta, arboretum, autumn, autumn colours, autumn leaves, Herefordshire, ornamental trees, Redwoods, woodland, woodlands

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Queenswood Arboretum – Part Two – the Oaks

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 3, 2014

Having enjoyed the Autumn Garden we found a sign indicating a footpath to an “Old Orchard” and the “Readers Chair” which naturally took us in the opposite direction to our planned route. Diversions are good for you! Just see what we found by following this one!

We followed the path beneath tall slender trees and found an orchard of ancient fruit trees.

When we reached the centre of the old orchard with its sweet scent of rotting apples and fallen leaves we found out what the Reader’s Seat was. It was really a large piece of outdoor sculpture which was also a seat. I imagine the wood it was constructed from was oak as it was weathering to the most beautiful and palest of silver. The carvings were so beautifully sculpted into each face of the uprights which made up the canopy over the circle of seats.

We sat a while appreciating the craftsmanship of the seat with its carvings before exploring further the old orchard itself.

But where we we headed before the wooden sign post persuaded us to search for the Old Orchard and Reader’s Seat? We were off to find the Oak Avenue. We expected this to be a shaded walk between tow tall rows of ancient native oaks. How wrong we were! What we actually found was a small field with two rows of oaks from all over the world. Tall ones, short ones, fat ones, thin ones and even a shrub like one. There seemed to be an Oak from every corner of the world. But to get there we wandered through Cotterill’s Folly where huge Beech trees towered over the path and covered that path with their waxy tough leaves.

Our first oak surprise was this narrow-leaved tree with slightly pendulous branches, aptly called the Willow-leaved Oak. Its foliage looked so fresh and full of vitality, which was in stark contrast to the Armenian Oak we looked at next. This oak had large leathery leaves already coloured for autumn.

Our next oak was a small tree with leaves like those of a Sweet Chestnut.

One thing that all oaks attract is lichen and we soon found this stunning glaucous example shaped just like stags antlers.

Our next Oak looked just like an Olive tree – it was just the right size and shape with glaucous leaves just like those of an Olive. But when we got closer and noticed its bark we knew straight away it was some sort of a Cork Oak. The label informed us that it was a Quercus variabilis, a Chinese Cork Oak.

We were so surprised to see the next of our Oaks as it was just four or five feet tall, a small shrub rather than a majestic old tree. Nuttall’s Oak, Quercus texana surprised us again when we noticed its beautifully shaped leaves, somewhat reminiscent of a Liquidamber.

Close by we found another shrubby Oak but this one had a different growth habit. It was a solid looking bush with simple leathery foliage. This was a Bamboo Leaved Oak – very well named.

This old Cork Oak had died but in death presented itself as a piece of textured sculpture. But it did frame another autumn coloured Oak on the far side of the green area.

This neat small specimen on the left was an Algerian Oak and the equally neat one on the right was a Shumard’s Oak.

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After enjoying discovering so many different oaks most of them new to us, we began to make our way back to the car park. We passed a Wild Service Tree one of our rarest native trees before moving on through a little plantation of Betulas and made our way towards a stand of Redwoods.

To share this last leg of our wander around Queenswood Arboretum just look at the third post in this series.

Tags apple trees, arboreta, arboretum, cork oak, garden seating, garden seats, Herefordshire, oak, oak tree, orchards, trees, woodland, woodland garden

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Queenswood Arboretum – Part 1 – the Acers

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 3, 2014

Late October heralds arboretum visiting time. Last year we visited Bodenham and Arley which we take a trip to most years but we also traveled a little further afield into Cheshire to the Jodrell Bank Arboretum and the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Over the last five years we have also taken trips to Westonbirt in Gloucestershire, Bluebell Arboretum in Derbyshire.

But there is one closer to us, in fact just an hour away across into Herefordshire, which we have never visited but were reminded of as we watched Carol Klein visit it on the Gardeners World TV programme. So we made up our mind that our first arboretum visit this autumn would be to Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum. It was worth the wait! Come with us as we explore its delights on a dull overcast day occasionally dampened with bouts of drizzle.

We left the car park to follow Lime Avenue which would take us to the Autumn Garden which promised us a painter’s pallet of Acers. There is something special about the gentle scent of woodlands in autumn, comforting and warming, but this was interrupted by the more aggressive unpleasant odour of foxes whose tracks crossed ours periodically as we climbed the gentle slope below the huge limes towering above us. We diverted often! There were interesting trees grabbing our attention every few yards, making progress slow. Tree silhouettes, bark textures, leaf colours, leaf shapes – all there to distract and attract.

The trees had plenty of autumnal features to attract and distract tree lovers such as Jude the Undergardener and I. Berries, peeling bark, silvered leaves, brightly coloured leaves, black branch silhouettes ……………….

When we reached the area called the “Autumn Garden” we were blown away by the collection of Acers with their striped barks, their red and yellow leaves and their sculptural trunks curling away below their leaf canopy. Part way through the Autumn Garden we found this plaque on the “Dendrology Stone” which was presented to Queenswood Arboretum in 1981 by the International Dendrology Society recognising the quality of its young trees, layout and public access. There only 19 arboretum worldwide which have received this award. This emphasises just how important this 47 acres of country park actually is.

But there was far more to see here with trees and shrubs to discover around every corner.

But let us enjoy a journey around the delights of the Acers before we get distracted further.

We enjoyed a well deserved coffee break on one of the many benches we found within the glade of Acers with a wonderful view. We sat to enjoy our coffee and listened to the Woodpeckers and Nuthatches in the tree canopy. Jays entertained us collecting up acorns, beech mast and sweet chestnuts. This is the view from the seat we chose to take our coffee break sat on. How good is that!

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In part two we shall be seeking out an old orchard and the “Reader’s Seat”.

Tags acers., arboreta, arboretum, autumn, autumn colours, autumn leaves, Herefordshire, leaves, native trees, ornamental trees, trees

autumn autumn colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening grasses hardy perennials light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture photography roses shrubs

Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in October

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 22, 2014
1 Comment on Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in October

We are now into autumn and the trees are looking very undecided about what to do with their leaves. Some trees are already showing their Autumn hues but some are still displaying their summer greens. The wind as usual blows hard in October and snatches coloured leaves off all too early but does make colourful “carpets” beneath.

Off into the garden with camera in hand in a break in the gloomy light I shot a series of photos to give you an idea of what is going on in our garden in October.

I have decided to single out one plant which has started flowering just the last few days whereas its cousins flowered months ago. It is a Toad Lily – Trycirtis hirta variegata. The flowers are much paler than our other varieties of Trycirtis but they do still have the lovely marking typical of the family. Flowering this late does mean though that the flowers are viewed against foliage that is not at its best, with the gold edged variegation looking very faded.

The best way for me to show you our October garden is probably via a gallery. So please just click on the first shot and navigate with the arrows. And enjoy!

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn leaves, garden in autumn, grasses, October, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees

autumn autumn colours colours fruit and veg garden design garden designers garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials Italian style gardens light light quality meadows ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography Piet Oudolf shrubs Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith trees

A garden in September – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 9, 2014
1 Comment on A garden in September – Trentham

So here we are back for the September visit to the wonderful gardens at Trentham. We arrived in bright sunshine which was a big change to the usual weather on our visits here. Usually we get wet but today looked set fair with blue sky with just a scattering of white clouds. As we walked over the bridge into the gardens we looked down into the River Trent below to see it swollen with floodwater and carrying much dirt in its wake. The water of the Trent flowed brown and the grasses of Piet Oudolf’s River of Grasses refleced this colour.

Moving into Oudolf’s Prairie there was much more variety in the colours although grasses remained powerful elements. The tall herbaceous perennials were showing deepening colours as autumn approaches. Rich rubies, purples and blues were, in places, lit up by the crisp white of the Seleniums and sunny yellows of Solidago.

Leaving the subtle but at the same time exciting Prairie we wandered off towards the Italian Garden with its traditional style of planting. We passed through a Hornbeam tunnel where the autumnal light played with shadows. Leaving its coolness our eyes were assaulted by Begonias and brightly leaved bananas.

We always look forward to our first glimpse of the delights that await us in Tom Stuart-Smith’s Italianate parterres. Looking from the balustrade the view spread out below in the geometric beds promised so much of interest, while a quick glance below showed bursts of red Dahlias and yellow Rudbeckias.

Once down among the many beds we soon discovered just what flowers were giving us the colourful sights.

These colours were enriched all the more by the russets and chocolates of the grasses and seed heads of perennials such as Phlomis and Verbascums.

We reluctantly left the Tom S-S plantings behind us and ambled off through the tall trees of the old parkland towards the display gardens. We glanced at the early autumn colours of Prunus trees between the silver bark of the trunks of Betula. Some Betula trunks were showing their great age and their textures contrasted strongly with their younger smoother neighbours.

Rhus trees were showing deep orange foliage which matched the petals of a lovely Dahlia.

Elsewhere another Rhus partnered a red leaved Cotinus. Coloured glass leaves atop silver stems added more colour close by.

White and purple spires of Actaea caught the light.

In the Allotment Garden orange globes of pumpkins were drying in the sun and heat of this Indian Summer.

After a light lunch we made our way towards the Rose Walk to see how things had changed since our visit last month. We passed back through some of the Tom S-S borders where we were drawn for a closer look towards the long thin seed pods of Amsonias.

Seedheads and dying flower heads of many different perennials and grasses were so enthralling that our walk back through these borders took rather longer than anticipated.

A long line of thin rectangular borders designed by Piet Oudolf act as a link between the Tom S-S garden and the Rose Walk. Here colour abounded.

In the Rose Walk itself most rose bushes were still in flower and tall flowers such as Cleome and Verbena bonariensis added even more colour.

We enjoyed the views from the Rose Walk back towards Oudolf’s Prairie and River of Grasses. We could also see the shrubs growing alongside it including a spectacular deciduous Euonymous with orange and red fruits.

So this Indian Summer we are enjoying provided us with great light to view the gardens at Trentham but the strange seasons mean that many perennials and grasses were far more autumnal than we could have expected. Next month’s return to Trentham may well show Trentham to be well in the grip of Autumn.

Tags betulas, birches, formal gardening, garden design, garden designers, grasses, hardy perennials, new perennial gardening, ornamental grasses, perennials, Piet Oudolf, pumpkins, rhus, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Garden, Trentham Gardens

autumn autumn colours colours fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening gardens hardy perennials Shropshire

Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in September 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 4, 2014
2 Comments on Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in September 2

From the beginning to the end the month of September saw great changes as autumn began to show its glory. There may be fewer flowers out in this month but every one seems richer in colour and texture, and the greens of the foliage gets paler making way for yellows, oranges and reds to creep in.

Enjoy a journey around our garden in the final few days of September. Just click on any image to enter the slide show and click on the right arrow to move on through.

Ricinus still in full flower with Miss Wilmott’s Ghost.

Almost there! We will soon be in a race with the Blackbirds to get to the grapes first.

The whispy seedheads of mixed grasses provide a perfect foil for Geranium Rosanne. Behind our Chestnut beings to yellow.

The tiny daisy flowers of Erigeron contrast with the dark stems of the purple Sedum.

Papaver rupifera glows whatever the light is up to.

A view of the Chicken Garden through Miscanthus flowers.

A second view of the Chicken Garden through Persicaria amplexicaule Alba.

Sedum and Hypericum in the Chicken Garden.

Honeysuckle and Clematis – a perfect Sepyember combination.

Another Crab Apple with smaller red fruit.

The Chicken Garden in all its autumn glory.

Tags apples, autumn, autumn colours, clematis, foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, hardy perennials, ornamental trees, September, trees

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Aiming for a year round garden – our garden in September

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 30, 2014
2 Comments on Aiming for a year round garden – our garden in September

We hosted the final visit by a garden group to our garden for the year at the beginning of this month. We were pleased that there was still plenty of interest for our friends from the South Shropshire Mini-group of the Hardy Plant Society.

As usual we shall start this month’s wander in the front garden. In the gateway our pink pelargoniums continue to flower below our house nameplate on our gatepost.

The “Chatto Garden” is beautiful every day of every year and today is no exception. The red leaf blades of the grass, Imperata cylindrica “Red Baron”, seem more colourful in the late summer sun. Nearby the dying flowers of the Agapanthus “Black Panther” still glow blue against the biscuit colours of the grasses.

The first of our many Michaelmas Daisies are now flowering and close by our latest small tree, a wonderful Acer pectinatum, with red stems and leaf petioles has settled well.

The other front garden borders still have plenty of interest to look at.

By our front door the shrub, Buddleja lindleyana continues to flower on after many months. Also in our Freda Garden the strange yellow flowers of Kirengeshoma palmata are on the verge of opening into its bell shaped blooms. These two unusual flowers grow side by side and look beautiful together with their complimentary yellow and blue.

In the back garden the Shed Border is still punctuated by the yellow spires of the Verbascum which look even brighter with the red hybrid tea rose blooming alongside. Even more colourful is the Tropical Garden with this star shaped Dahlia starring with Ricinus. The bee arrived at the very centre of this Dahlia just as I pressed the shutter button.

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Next to the hot colours of the Tropical Garden the pastel shades of our Sweet Peas that clamber up the wall trellis cool things down a little.

In the Rill Garden the red-flowered Clematis flowers of Hagley Hybrid clamber around behind the succulent reddish-black leaved Aeonium affording a fiery combination.

In the seaside garden the airy Cosmos plants still flower profusely in whites and pale pinks.

The little Pollinators Bed on either side of the Insect Hotel still displays a few flowers such as the white Lychnis coronaria and the last few petals hang onto the Leonotis which now shows its cylindrical seed heads. Close by our grapes are colouring up promising tasty, juicy fresh fruits soon. Another brown seed head of the Eryngium “Miss Wilmott’s Ghost” is now full of black seeds ripe and ready to drop to the soil to produce next year’s plants.

The Secret Garden always provides plenty of colour interest and variety of texture. Geranium Rosanne seems to be perpetually in flower and it looks particularly good with grasses. Our Aesculus x mutabilis “Induta” has a few seeds forming and as they ripen little shining brown “conkers” show in the cracking cases.

In the Spring Garden Rosanne stars again and the final few flowers of Cosmos polidor look golden against the silver of the Betula’s silver trunk. Close by in the Chicken Garden apples await harvesting and Miscanthus grasses colour up attractively.

I shall finish with two special plants, an Acer turning buttercup yellow and Persicaria amplexicaule rosea.

After finishing this post the garden seemed to change as autumn approached, so I decided to take a few photos right at the end of the month to illustrate how the garden changes with time, sometimes a short time. So look out for a colourful gallery in Part Two.

Tags autumn colours, foliage, foliage plants, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, gardening, grasses, grown your own, organic gardening, ornamental trees, September, shrubs

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Our First Woodland Walk of Autumn – Part Two

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 17, 2014
4 Comments on Our First Woodland Walk of Autumn – Part Two

Back to Vyrnwy the woodland nature reserve of the RSPB based around a huge reservoir, where we continue our walk enjoying the sights, scents and sounds of an autumn wood.

We moved on to where the path turns a corner and we cross a tiny stream over a wooden bridge. Today the bridge looked very different. Each side was covered in a growth of ginger brown fungi. We were literally stopped in our tracks in amazement! We had never before seen such a sight and probably never will again.

In the close vicinity the atmosphere was so humid that you could feel the dampness in the air. Moss enjoyed the sauna-like conditions and grew on tree trunks. The trunks dripped with the moss, making them look like little green figures beneath the trees. We continued to find a variety of fungi some of which grew high off the ground. One in particular looked as if a frisbee had been thrown so fiercely that it had dug deep into the tree trunk.

The humidity here, partnered with the bright light creeping through the branches, made the shades of greens and brown glow richly.

The air got damper and the shafts of sunlight lower as we passed this old moss-covered stone wall and reached the lake. We shall find the lake in the third and final part of my First Woodland Walk of Autumn – Part Three.