Our first frost this year came late and it was a one off. The following night stayed well above freezing. Never before can I remember a season so late. First frost in late November is just unheard of. The light that arrived with the frost made everything in the garden look extra special.
Needless to say my camera called to me! Come around the garden – join me in my gallery. Just click on a photo and use the arrow to move on.
I began writing this post in mid-november when we should have been surrounded by the blaze of autumn colour, the hedges and trees should be on fire with the reds and oranges and the autumn migrant thrushes should be gorging on the berries in the hedgerows and gardens. At that time there was little sign of these things happening.
As we move towards the end of November things have changed greatly. We now garden to the sounds of migrant thrushes passing high over head, Redwings, Fieldfares and Mistle Thrushes and a few small flocks are settling in our berried trees. They see us as a stopping off point where they can gorge on the berries and fruits of our Crab Apples, Sorbus and Cotoneasters.
But what will they see when they drop in? Come with me and my camera for a wander.
Telescopes and trees do not normally go together but there is one very special place here in the Midlands where they certainly do. We drove northwards on the A49 making our way into Cheshire in search of Jodrell Bank famous as a space research centre created by Sir Bernard Lovell. He was a man with varied interests trees, cricket and space. Here in Cheshire he indulged in two of his passions trees and space.
We passed through part of the information centre to get to the start of the arboretum trail and we tried to read some of the information panels and studied complicated diagrams. We were instantly lost – the realms of space are not within the realms of our understanding. We both find it fascinating but it all seems way beyond our understanding. At least we tried before moving into the arboretum – trees we can appreciate and understand.
This arboretum holds two National Collections, crab apples and rowans. Malus and Sorbus to be more botanically correct. These are two of my favourite families of trees, if only they had Betulas as well! I would have been in my element!
We had read on the website before coming that the paths can get wet so sensible footwear was advisable. We wore our walking boots and we were so pleased that we had. The paths were so wet often the water was almost to the top of our boots, but it didn’t spoil our enjoyment of a wonderful collection of trees set amidst a natural woodland setting.
A collection of deciduous Euonymus welcomed us as we passed through the wooden gate, their wild coloured berries and bright autumnal leaves were a treat for the eyes.
We wandered through woodland towards a fairly recently created garden designed by Chris Beardshaw. Before entering his garden we found a little collection of Berberis clothed in their waxy red berries which hung in long racemes.
Chris Beardshaw’s garden was designed to reflect the creation of space itself and was a strong design based on spirals and circles with a gentle mound at the centre affording us the opportunity of appreciating these shapes from above. The main planting was willows, grasses and perennials.
Soon after a circular walk around this garden of circles and spirals we discovered the first of the Crab Apples and they were laden with fruit, their miniature apples in sizes varying from tiny beads up to golf ball size.
This golden fruited variety in the two photos below are “Comtesse de Paris” and the red fruited variety below them with fruit reminiscent of the haws of our native Hawthorn is “Mary Petter”. Close by the stump of a felled old tree had been carved into a proud looking eagle. Upon the eagle we spotted a ladybird sunning itself perhaps finding extra warmth on the wood of the stump. Better camouflaged was the Shield Bug we found just inches away.
Malus “Indian Summer” was one of the newly planted specimens probably a cultivar newly developed although some of the old original crab trees were now being replaced as they died off.
But there was much more to this part of the arboretum than the wonderful crab apples, and we discovered interesting trees at every turn in the path and around every clearing, birches, walnuts, whitebeam and maples. In this area of the garden migrant thrushes were busy feeding up after their long journeys. All these crab apples, sorbus and other fruiting trees and nut bearing trees provide a wonderfully rich restaurant for them.
Two trees caught our attention but we didn’t particularly like either of them and they both seemed so out of place in this natural feeling woodland. They were more “novelty features” than attractive trees. First photo is of a strange weeping conifer and the second a columnar Whitebeam.
I shall finish part one of our visit to Jodrell Bank Arboretum with a photo of a lovely golden crab apple with blushed cheeks. My next post will be part two when we shall be on the look out for the second featured group of trees, the Rowans or Sorbus.
Schizostylus must be one of the most neglected and under-planted bulbous plants there are available to gardeners. And now the poor thing has had its name changed by the botanist boffins! We should now be calling them Hesperantha. Their common name is Kaffir Lily. They hail from South Africa and are members of the iris family.
The commonest must be S. coccinea “Major” with its deep coppery red colouring that zings in any part of the garden when the weather is gloomy from October onwards, often well into early spring.
We recently planted this variety “Pink Princess” with flowers of the palest pink possible.
Our latest addition is this small flowered pink with the evocative name “Fenland Daybreak”. The pink of each petal has the finest dark pink lines on like spiders webs. It is a real beauty.
So there they are our three Schizostylus, three sisters one princess by name but all princesses in beauty.
As promised we return to Newport House to concentrate more on the gardens. The pictures above show the enclosed courtyard gardens behind the cafe building. From there we moved on towards the gardens in front of the house.
The view across open expanses of lawn was broken by the sight of this magnificent Sweet Chestnut which was made all the more magnificent by tree house lovingly crafted to embrace the trunks and main boughs.
Formal Italian styled gardens with frameworks of low box hedging were cut into the lawns but inside these box structures was soft herbaceous plantings.
Further pieces of sculpture were positioned within these plantings and on the lawn itself.
A particular favourite piece of all four of us was positioned to frame the lake and woodlands beyond.
From the lower branches of trees hung other pieces such as these steel spheres.
Mother Nature herself was not to be outdone, so she cut these gently curving lines into an old stump of a felled tree. Around the other side of the stump we found that it had been carved into a giant story telling chair with other small wooden seats scattered in front of it.
We were delighted to stumble across these pieces of Land Art created using pieces of natural materials found within the garden as part of a recent workshop.
A small arboretum featured some interesting young trees which looked particularly good in their early autumn foliage colours. The tree below on the right was a stunning Crataegus and one that none of us recognised and the following two pics show the leaves and haws closer up. I have since found out it is Crataegus orientalis.
This tree in the following two pictures was another Crataegus – prunifolia I think. After that the two photos following are of a tree with a neat habit, but again it was one we did not recognise. I thought it could possibly have been a Nyssa sylvatica but I shall have to check it out.
This lovely curved bed of coloured stemmed dogwoods acted as a boundary to the arboretum. The Cornus were displaying their rich red colours of autumn.
The next tree featured in the photos below is probably the best variety of Ash you can get, Fraxinus angustifolia “Raywood”, the Claret Ash.
Leaving the arboretum, after enjoying studying the selection of interesting trees, we wandered off towards the walled garden, passing a ditch crossed by a bridge formed from the roots of the native Ash alongside.
The walled garden itself was fascinating with unusual features to enjoy. The first photo below shows a peach canopy. The gardener’s cottage had been beautifully restored as had the greenhouses.
The pergolas which bridged the central paths was made of iron and were beautifully decorated.
So, although we came to Newport House to see the outdoor sculpture we found much to interest us in the gardens themselves.
“Out of Nature” was the name given to a sculpture exhibition staged in Newport House in Herefordshire situated a little south of Kington. Most of the pieces were displayed in the sensitive background of the gardens but a few were featured in the cafe. The photo above shows how simple staging can be very effective and can enhance the pieces themselves especially those created from stone or metal. The staging was simply recycled scaffold planks as shelving and breeze block stands.
On the lawn alongside the entrance to the cafe this semi-transparent piece glowed and demanded a closer look.
Behind the buildings was a series of small brick enclosed gardens and here the light of early autumn gave extra vibrancy to the sculpture pieces.
Leaving the enclosed gardens we walked through an avenue where each tree displayed hanging metal pieces.
The walled garden was a short walk down the drive and along a trackway where we found an archway in the tall brick walls. Through this we found old restored greenhouses where sculptures were displayed. We found others lining the path to the greenhouses.
The gardens themselves had many attractive features and are worth a visit in their own right, so my my next blog will give you a taste of what they have to offer.
We have just returned from a weekend up on the Lincolnshire coast. We had been invited to attend the RHS Britain in Bloom award ceremony at Cleethorpes’ Beechcomber Entertainment Centre, a rather strange place harking back to the days of Butlins Holiday Camps. We were there to represent our Allotment Community as I am chairman and Jude is secretary to the management committee. We had to attend the ceremony on Saturday eve so decided to make a weekend of it.
The award ceremony was very successful for us, the rest of the weekend less so. But we are gardeners and hardy folk so we were not going to let the wild weather beat us. At the ceremony we proudly received an RHS National Award of Distinction. This was a result of our awards Bowbrook Allotment Community received at the RHS Its Your Neighbourhood Award Ceremony in Birmingham in September, a “Level 5 Outstanding Award” and two RHS Discretionary Awards, the “Community Gardening Award” and one awarded to me for “Outstanding Merit Award for Leadership in Community Gardening”. We came away with some beautiful cut glass trophies as well as our certificates.
The east coast of England was battered by winds and heavy rain over the weekend but being a hardy pair we carried on regardless and enjoyed a bracing walk along the promenade. The gardens here had been recently renovated and were neatly kept. We are not fans of bedding plants formally planted nor of conifers but admired the gardeners handiwork none the less. Sculpture pieces featured along the promenade gardens.
All the photos were taken through pouring rain and often through a filter of rain drops on the lens filter glass.
Cleethorpes had become run down but is experiencing a bit of a revival and civic pride seems to be returning. However some of the traditional buildings of seaside resorts were looking worse for wear especially emerging from the gloom of the day.
But we weren’t the only brave souls defying the elements. Dog walkers, fishermen, the seaside donkeys and windsurfers were equally defiant.
Drying out after our promenade along the sea front took some time but the seaside in rough weather has its own specific charm about it. It was heartening to see a seaside town trying to reinvent itself using gardens as a starting point, a good way to create some pride in a place.
October this year is a very confused month, with some plants thinking it is already well into autumn and others believing they are still in mid-summer. And some, judging by the number of berries dripping from the trees must be getting ready to feed the winter migrant birds. Come with me for a wander and you will see what I mean.
In the Freda Garden opposite the front door this beautiful Crocosmia with its flowers in orange with an unusual hint of pink continues to flower profusely. By the front door the pots are filling up with bright orange violas giving a cheerful welcome to visitors.
The leaves of the yellow winter flowering Ribes are turning all shades of pink and red while beneath it the perennial wallflower, Bowles Mauve, continues to flower even though it has barely had a rest all year. The lovely yellow Crocosmia sits comfortably alongside the Cotoneaster which is already heavy with berries.
In pots alongside the wood store sit these two Michaelmas Daisies which we bought from the Picton Garden recently and they still sit in pots waiting for us to find a spot for them. On the left is the variety “Coombe Fishacre” and on the right the species “elegans”.
Down the drive the berries of Cotoneasters and Rowan await the arrival of the winter thrushes but we will enjoy their rich red colouring while we can. Opposite them this beautiful blue Aster looks extra blue with the golden hues of the little grasses alongside.
In the Chatto Garden, which looks good every day of the year, the whispy strands of the Stipa tenuissima move in the slightest of breezes behind the rigid dried heads of Bherkeya and the mauve flowers of Verbena bonariensis
Glaucous leaves of this Euphorbia afford a good background for the seed heads of Amaryllis. Close by another Euphorbia, griffithii “Dixter”, dies to a bright pink in stem and leaf.
The sword-like Iris leaves are similarly glaucous and they enrich the deepest pink of Huskers Red Pentstemon. A beautiful combination!
The white stems of Betula utilis jacqemontii “Silver Queen” glow against the evergreen background afforded by the Red Robin. In the same bed two varieties of deciduous Euonymus are changing into reds and pinks and busy white bell shaped flowers of Arbutus, the Strawberry Tree hang in full bunches. We have never seen so many flowers on our Arbutus before so we are anticipating a profusion of “strawberries” later on.
On the grass giant fungi sit like plates, dining plates for the slugs that feast on them.
Autumn colour is particularly well advanced on the Cercis “Forest Pansy”, Stransvesia and Amelanchier. The strange pink flowers of Lobelia tupa appear in a different place each year as they migrate around the Hot Border.
Moving into the back garden via the shade border we find the contrasting leaf shapes of Inula and ferns.
Arriving in the Rill Garden we can appreciate how the remnant flowers of the Pelargoniums match the berries strung out along the stems of the Cotoneaster.
These Ornithogalum are a new plant for us this year – we are so glad we grew them. It seems an awful long time ago we planted the bulbs in their big terracotta pots. In the border behind them the leaves of the Witch Hazel are colouring up nicely in patterns, the Hypericum berries are now shiny black and the Echinops flowers sit stiffly on rigid stems like silvery blue spheres.
Looking down the central path of the back garden the glowing red fruit of Apple Scrumptious still decorate the arch over the path.
I shall feature a few special favourites and then create a gallery for you to enjoy to illustrate what else is going on in the back garden. Schistostylus are a real late autumn flower but can flower at any time, some responding to the first frosts before they show. We have just bought this pale pink one but have enjoyed the red one for years now.
How about this for a Salvia – you can’t get blue much richer or deeper than this! The Persicaria is P. aucuparia Firetail which produces its poker-like flowers for months through the summer and autumn. Some of the flower heads at the moment are a good 3 inches long and an inch wide.
These two umbrella shaped flower heads are very different in habit. The glowing pink Sedum sits low to the ground on floppy glaucous stems while the Vernonia stands proud aloft tall 4 foot rigid stems.
An archway leading to the pool and Japanese Garden is covered in the red leaves of Vitis purpurea and alongside the pool is this willow. The stems of the Violet Willow are covered in a white bloom from now through to the spring when the winter rains return them to deep violet-black.
Now enjoy a wander around the back garden to see what October has in store for us to appreciate.
Near one of England’s most beautiful landscapes, the Malvern Hills is the village of Colwall, where we found the National Collection of Asters. The Picton Gardens and nursery which snuggle in beneath the hills is the place to go if you like Michaelmas Daisies. If you are already a fan you will become a bigger fan when you realise the vast range of flower colours, and how many different sized and shaped plants there are. If you were not a fan and went there you would come out a lifetime fan!
Even the gate welcomes you with a daisy!
Now follow us around as we explore this 2 acre autumn garden. The first set of photos were taken within ten minutes of starting out and already we had discovered the huge range of colours asters are painted in. But this garden is not just a collection of Michaelmas Daisies but a beautifully designed illustration of how good a garden can look in October. The yellows of Helianthum, Kniphofia and Rudbeckia all contrast with the pinks and purples of the Asters and grasses such as Miscanthus provide a perfect foil.
We had already come across Cotinus and Rhus which gave rich jewels of deep coloured foliage adding structure to the borders. Shrubs and trees featured more as we moved on, enticed by this gently curving pathway. Acers, deciduous Euonymus and Cornus fwere the stars here before the path led us out of the trees, with the woven apples sitting in the border, to the next section of the garden.
This area featured smaller shrubs punctuated by taller trees such as a rich gold and bronze Sorbus amid areas of perennials, a large percentage of which were of course Asters.
Beneath the peeling trunk of an Acer griseum these two woven youngsters were enjoying leisure time in the garden, the young girl quietly absorbed while her brother concentrates on perfecting his hand stands.
Even though we were emerged in Asters we could not help but be impressed by the incredible variety of texture in the bark of the trees.
The only way to finish this post is to indulge in a rich mix of Asters.
September is the month when the first signs of autumn creep in and there is something special happening to the light. Misty mornings give the garden a fresh atmosphere. Darkness comes too early each day. Fruit picking is the order of the day and we get out our pruning kit, secateurs, pruning saws and loppers large and small to tackle the trees and shrubs.
Grasses begin to change colour, some flowers and seed heads are turning redder and more purple others towards the pale tints of biscuit.
The Blackberry vine is so heavy with fruit that it blocks the pathway and apples hang in thick bunches but seem slow to ripen. At last colour is creeping into the greenness of the grapes. Fingers crossed that the weather is kind to them and therefore kind to us.
This Buddleja is a special one with purple flowers at the tip of each arching branch. The out side of each individual flower is dusty purple-grey but the rich bright purple inside provides a beautiful contrast. Buddleys lindleyana is a very special shrub. A real favourite! And it looks even better alongside a bright orange neighbour in the guise of a Crocosmia. While we are on the subject of bright flowered Crocosmia the yellow one nearby is gentler but still a true bright beauty.
Shrubs and trees are thinking ahead to the winter and painting their leaves in reds, oranges and yellows. The first two photos are of a special Ribes which will give us yellow flowers in the winter. These are followed by deciduous varieties of Euonymus and Cercis “Forest Pansy”.
On the gravel garden, our Beth Chatto Garden, grasses are starring alongside the autumn stars, Michaelmas Daisies.
Bulbs usually mean late winter or early spring but these cyclamen and tulbaghia are showstoppers right now.
So off we go into autumn!
A Vegetarian | Nature Lifestyle Blog
.....and nurturing my soul
Journeys In St. Louis Gardening and Beyond
Consult the genius of the place
A blog full of humorous and poignant observations.
Notes from a wildlife-friendly cottage garden
...an emerging social science
'The most important and informative publication on wildlife of our times' - The Independent. This blog is a member of The UK & Ireland Natural History Bloggers group: www.uknhb.blogspot.com
Inspire - Cultivate - Grow Native Plants - Restore Landscapes
To create and protect a semi-natural wild space for the people of Farnham to enjoy and experience an array of British wildlife in our town
The www.gardeningwithchildren.co.uk Blog
birding through the seasons, why birds matter and how to conserve them
with a camera in hand
Transform your outdoor space
My allotment, cooking and other interests
my gardening life through the year
Trying to live a creative life
trying to live as lightly as possible on our beautiful planet
Nature lovers from Leicester living the good life.
Finding the beautiful in the everyday
Michelle's Allotment
thoughts from and about my garden
Big plans for a small garden
A Walled Country Garden in South East Scotland
Life at the fruity chicken
Off grid living. Self sufficient. "PERMAGANICS RULE".
Nottingham's Grade 2* Listed Allotments and Community Orchard
a journey in suburban vegetable gardening
The madness of growing your own
A novel approach to vegetable gardening
Sustainable living in the Irish countryside.
Master Gardener, amateur photographer, quilter, NH native, and sometimes SC snowbird
Recent work and work in progress and anything else that interests me
a chaotic cottage gardener
a weekly blog that creates a personal philosophy through photographs and words
Stories from a sassy and classy Southern farmbelle.
Simple Organic Gardening & Seasonal Living
turning dirt into dinner
today the world is created anew
Notes from a Devon garden
Life Through The Lens
A photography blog showcasing the best photography pictures and videos on the internet
Just another WordPress.com site
personal observations from the natural world as the search continues for a new approach to conservation.
The Wonders of Life through my Eyes, my Heart, my Soul
greenbenchramblings 