Tag: autumn

The Gardens at Newport House

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 10, 2013
2 Comments on The Gardens at Newport House

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.

2013 10 24_4533

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.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, community gardening, cornus, dogwoods, foliage, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, garden sculpture, gardening, Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, trees, walled gardens

allotments autumn community gardening garden wildlife gardening gardens meadows wildlife

Autumn Working Parties – sorting the meadows.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 28, 2013
3 Comments on Autumn Working Parties – sorting the meadows.

Our Autumn Working Parties at the allotments are mostly to do with treating our various meadows to their annual haircut, brush up and manicures. Last year we were badly held up by the wet weather and struggled late in the year to get our meadows sorted. This year we had no such problems and managed to get the ball rolling in mid-September. We did however have an audience who sat and watched us, three of the Mallard ducklings who live on site, eating our slugs and snails with raspberries for dessert. Now that is what you call organic pest control!

The main wildflower meadows need a lot of work to get the thick grass cut down low and to ensure the thatched grass layer is removed.

When we cut the meadows in the orchards we tidy up by clearing grass back form around each tree and top dress with a good deep mulch of manure. This will keep the area weed free and slowly feed the trees next year. We had given the orchards a quick trim over a few weeks earlier and as can be seen in the photo below the warm moist weather had encouraged fresh growth.

They looked very neat when we had finished. We can now wait for the first bright green spikes of the bulbs that will give us colour early in the year.

When the meadows are cut very low and well raked, some patches are scarified to allow us to sow seeds of Yellow Rattle, a wild flower which parasitises on the roots of strong growing grass. This weakens the growth of the grass and allows the wild flowers to get better established. It is also good at attracting beneficial insects and bees. So on an allotment site this helps with pest control and pollinating of crops. We spend a lot of time keeping an eye on the meadows to see when the seeds of wild flowers ripen so that we can collect them for re-sowing in the spring.

One area will not be getting much attention yet though, the three beds that make up the “Perfect for Pollinators” garden. As the photo illustrates one of these is planted up with garden plants, one with a mix of native and garden plants and the third (at the bottom edge of the photo) is seeded each year with annual wildflowers. This annual bed will be cleared completely and then sown afresh in the spring.

Tags allotments, autumn, community gardening, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, meadows, organic gardening, wildflower meadows, wildlife

autumn autumn colours climbing plants colours fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening grasses half-hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire

A Garden Bouquet for October

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 25, 2013
7 Comments on A Garden Bouquet for October

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.

Tags apples, autumn, autumn colours, autumn gardens, foliage, fruit and veg, garden photography, gardening, ornamental trees

autumn autumn colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials nurseries ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs trees

Pride of Picton – Michaelmas Daisies

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 21, 2013
6 Comments on Pride of Picton – Michaelmas Daisies

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.

Tags asters, autumn, autumn colours, foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, grasses, Michaelmas Daisies, outdoor sculpture, shrubs, trees

autumn autumn colours climbing plants colours flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening grasses grow your own half-hardy perennials hardy perennials light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs succulents trees village gardens

A Garden Bouquet for September

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 1, 2013
5 Comments on A Garden Bouquet for September

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!

Tags apples, autumn, autumn colours, foliage, foliage plants, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, fruit., garden photography, gardening, grasses, grow your own, grown your own, harvest, September, shrubs, trees

autumn autumn colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens open to the public ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography

Looking Back Two – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 2, 2013
4 Comments on Looking Back Two – Trentham

In this post in my series featuring looking back at gardens visited in 2012, I will share photographs of an autumn visit to the wonderful Trentham, one of our favourite places to visit.

We took friends Jean and Tony with their granddaughter Lucy to share our enjoyment of this latest of our regular visits to these wonderful gardens designed by favourites, Piet Oudolf and Tom Stuart-Smith.

Perhaps this sign in the first photo is inviting us to get lost in wonder.

The garden is still full of colourful flowers in October. Each flower colour is enhanced by the gentle neutral shades of the grasses.

Lucy needs regular re-fuelling! She also needs time to play and enjoy an occasional sit down.

Through windows and doors.

Trentham once again provided us a real treat. We’ll be back again soon.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, garden photography, gardening, new perennial gardening, Piet Oudolf, prairie planting, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith

autumn colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses photography

A Selection of Sedums

Sedum spectabile “Autumn Joy”. If you had looked for autumn flowering sedums in gardening books 20 years ago that would be the variety that would invariably have popped up. Today things have changed so much.

Thanks to the work of garden designers from all over Europe such as Piet Oudolf and Tom Stuart-Smith, who have been seeking out new and imaginative ways of using herbaceous perennials, we have the choice of many. Different flower colours. Different leaf colours, textures and shapes. Different ways of changing their flowers as autumn moves into winter. The photo below illustrates how Piet Oudolf uses Sedum at Trentham.

We have been adding many to our newer borders at home and in the communal borders on the allotments and now is the time to look and see how many we have and how we have used them.

The first selection is from our garden at home, the first two illustrating our favourite way of using them with grasses. The extreme contrast in flower shape – the flat umbrellas of the Sedum with the tall spires of the grasses – make them good companions and the colours of the grasses both in their green coats and in their dried winter cloaks enhance each other.

Up at the allotments members have donated many different Sedum which we have planted within the communal gardens.

And finally I can’t resist sharing a few shots taken in other people’s gardens.

So there we have the sedums. Stalwarts or stars?

Tags autumn, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, grasses, Piet Oudolf, Sedum

autumn autumn colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens open to the public ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography the South trees

Images of Savill.

Savill Garden is a special places. Wandering around, its paths leads you to surprises, gentle places, sudden views and unexpected delights.

Tags autumn, foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, grasses, ornamental trees, the Savill Gardens

autumn autumn colours colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography the South trees

The Savill Garden in October

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 27, 2012
4 Comments on The Savill Garden in October

At last we have got around to visiting the Savill Garden. It was worth waiting for! The new visitor reception is an amazing building, a single storey space under a long, sinuous roof shaped like the tail of a Whale.

Looking up at the wonderful reception building.

Looking down into the garden from the reception building.

The Savill Garden is situated on the edge of Great Windsor Park and is just a small part of the Royal Landscape. We followed the recommended path around the garden so that we could see the effects of Autumn throughout.

In most areas of the garden, Savill had the typical look and feel of a stately home garden, both in plants grown, choice of design features and border arrangements, but hints of newer thinking were showing through, such as the use of grasses and new perennial plantings.

A true highlight of our visit to the Savill Gardens was the surprise at coming across this modern water feature. It looked good and it sounded good.

Although we visited the gardens at Savill in the Autumn one of the most colourful areas was the Winter Garden, already showing many interesting features. So the next post will be about the winter Garden in Autumn.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, grasses, greenhouse gardening, ornamental trees, shrubs, the Savill Gardens, trees

autumn autumn colours climbing plants colours garden design garden photography gardening grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography poppies roses Shropshire trees

A Wander Around our Garden in November

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 23, 2012
6 Comments on A Wander Around our Garden in November

This is the penultimate garden wander for the year and what a colourful one it is. The weather has turned cold with daytime temperatures failing to reach double figures and night time temperatures only just above freezing. Some days though do please the camera, with deep blue skies in between storms.

This rich red oriental poppy never fails to impress even this late in the year.

Several of the plants that feature in the November garden seem to sport odd shaped flowers. The Strawberry Tree, Arbutus unedo has flowers that hang like pearly cream bells. Cyclamen hederifolium have curious fly away petals while Shystostylus flowers hang on gently curving stems.

Roses seem to be blooming away giving us brightness for most of the year. Many that started blooming in late May are still flowering now and they are producing buds in readiness to flower right through to the end of the year.

At the moment I pass the wonderfully colourful corner of the Shed Bed, where grasses have coloured up intermingled with the dries flower heads of Eryngium and Agastache. It has to be my favourite November patch in the garden.

Having passed my favourite corner I pass our trees as I go down to to the bottom of the garden to feed the chicks. Their bark textures and colours change every day. This birch’s chocolate coloured bark is peeling back to reveal snow white smooth bark below, like a white shirt beneath jacket collars.

It seems to be a special year for cotoneaster berries, with every variety covered thickly in readiness for arrival of the winter migrant thrushes.

There is something very special about the freshness of the flowers of the Fatsia, with their creamy, greeny whitish colours. They always look to me as if they should smell of vanilla and be edible!

There are difficult decisions to be made in the November garden. Which seed heads to cut down and which to leave for their looks and wildlife value is perhaps the most difficult. How could you possible cut this clematis down when it looks this good? We tend now to leave perennials standing unless or until they fall and become soggy. Once they do this they endanger the lives of the plants they may be smothering. To me the idea of “putting the garden to bed for winter” just doesn’t add up. A garden is for 12 months, all of them

Wrapping the greenhouse in its winter jacket of bubble-wrap is the least favourite of all of our gardening tasks. This Novenber we started on a cold day knowing that as we added the thermal layer to the greenhouse we would heat up as well. But the sun came out and we got too hot. We started off wearing fleece jackets over jumpers but by the time we had finished we had shed both these layers and were down to tee-shirts.

First we collected the rolls of wrap from their summer quarters – the woodshed, and piled them up outside

Next we attempted to begin hanging it inside the greenhouse over specially positioned strings and wires. The bubblewrap then attacked Jude, the Undergardener.

Eventually Jude managed to overcome the wrap and get on with the job in hand, lining the sides and then hanging it over strings tied across the roof. Soon the temperature increased.

I hope these plants appreciate it!

Let’s us finish our November wander with a couple of richly coloured beautifully lit views across borders, and a quick look across our borrowed landscape.