Gardens

Plants&Gardens

In all their glory

As the heat of the summer fades there is no greater sight than a garden bursting into late colour and showing off its autumn finery to visitors

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Dudmaston at sunset

Autumn colours can be the most magical of all in our gardens. It’s also the season of cutting back and raking leaves – but if you need some inspiration, then the dramatic arrival of abundant reds, golden, yellow and orange hues in a professional garden might be enough to convince you that the hard work is worthwhile. The National Trust, which cares for some of the finest houses and gardens in the country, gave us their suggestions for the best to visit across the Shire patch, saying: “Jumping in crunchy leaves, discovering shiny conkers and enjoying fresh air with all the family – autumn is here for us all to embrace.”

CHESHIRE Lyme Park

Unmissable autumnal views as the woods are ablaze with colour, and the yellows and browns of the moorland stretch to the horizon, speckled with red deer.

Quarry Bank

Catch autumn colour cascading through the woods and into the gardens - reds, golds and bronze against a blue sky. Keep your eyes peeled for fungi poking through the leaves too!

Dunham Massey

Deep evergreens, riots of red and golds from thousands of shrubs and trees make up the UK’s largest winter garden.

Lyme Park

Quarry Bank

Dunham Massey

SHROPSHIRE Attingham

Home to a fabulous walled garden (right) and orchard, there can be few better places to visit in autumn. The team has been bringing this important part of the estate back to life and production. Originally created in the 1780s, after falling into disrepair, and having different uses in the 20th century, this Georgian kitchen garden is both beautiful and bountiful today.

Dudmaston

Another fine ancient estate, with wonderful gardens (above) to explore and activities on offer too. A visit in the autumn is particularly worthwhile if you join one of the organised foraging walks while fungi season is here.

Carding Mill Valley

Swap the cultivated gardens for a walk in the wild. Carding Mill Valley is a great day out that will show you nature on all sides, changing with the arrival of autumn.

Carding Mill Valley

NORTH WALES Bodnant Garden, Conwy

With sweeping lawns, grand terraces and verdant woodland, there are many gardens in one at Bodnant. Created over 150 years, with plants collected from far afield, and the incredible vision of the McLaren family and Puddle head gardeners, this haven of rarity and beauty with a stunning backdrop of the Carneddau mountains of Snowdonia is a delight for the senses.

Bodnant

Erddig, Wrexham

On a dramatic escarpment above the Clywedog river, Erddig boasts a fully restored 18th-century garden, with 180 different varieties of apple tree.

Plas Newydd, Anglesey

Massed hydrangeas give spectacular autumn colour, there’s a woodland walk to a delightful spring and stunning views across the Menai Strait to Snowdonia.

nationaltrust.org.uk

Erddig

AUTUMN’S REWARDS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK

The hazy days of summer may be fading, but that doesn’t mean the pleasure you get from your garden is over. In their regular column, the experts at Reaseheath College remind us there’s still plenty to enjoy and look forward to

Hopefully your flower beds, containers and veg patches are still bursting with flowers and produce and, with a little attention, will keep going until well into autumn. Regular dead-heading of flowers and cutting back tired foliage will pay dividends by revitalising your borders. Watering in warm spells will extend the flowering of favourites such as dahlias, Japanese anemones and heleniums, while regular feeding can keep hanging baskets producing until the first frosts.

Keep busy

There are other jobs you can do now to ensure your garden continues to deliver, benefiting both you and the local wildlife. Lis Morris, lecturer in Horticulture and Sustainable Technologies at University Centre Reaseheath in Cheshire, suggests: “As you dead-head, collect the ripe seeds from your favourite flowers and store in labelled envelopes, ready to sow in spring. If your beds look bare, fill gaps with late-flowering perennials such as sedums, which will provide nectar for pollinating insects. It’s also

“Leave sunflower a great time to order spring-flowering bulbs for planting now, seedheads and bare-rooted trees for the and fruit bushes, best birds” planted in November while they are dormant.” Lis also suggests: • Plant up containers with pansies, cyclamen, heathers, heucheras and other colourful bedding plants for autumn interest. • Divide and replant congested clumps of perennials, such as achilleas, after flowering. • Pick apples and pears before they get blown down and bruised, then store. • Harvest pumpkins and squashes and stake Brussels sprouts and broccoli. • Begin trimming hedges to control height. Japanese anemones make a long-lasting display • • Leave sunflower seedheads in place as feed for birds. Wash and disinfect bird feeders with a wildlife-approved product. For more on Reaseheath’s horticulture courses see reaseheath.ac.uk/horticulture

Bring the harvest home

TOP TIP

Bring trusses of unripe tomatoes indoors to continue ripening if temperatures are dropping

BEST FOR BEES

We all know our bees and other essential pollinators are under threat – so when you’re ordering plants for next year, why not consider some of these favourite pollen providers to give them a boost?

Hollyhocks

With columns of flowers that can reach up to 2m, these tall perennials grow stronger and produce more flower stems each year to draw the bees in. Some of the popular varieties, such as Hollyhock ‘Creme de Cassis’, are a wonder to behold for us humans too!

Lavender

You can often locate a lavender plant in summer from the buzzing bees as they flit from scented flower to scented flower. These extremely tough and drought-resistant small shrubs come in a variety of shades, from white to a very deep purple.

Buddleia

One of the best plants for bees, with masses of conical blooms that are always covered with all sorts of pollinating insects. If you don’t have room for a larger variety such as Buddleia davidii ‘Black Knight’, there are others specially bred to remain compact.

Coneflower

You’ll often see bees buzzing eagerly around the prominent central cones of these daisy-like flowers, visiting each floret to partake of its nectar and pollen. A long bloom period keeps bees well fed for months.

Sunflower

In addition to being prolific nectar and pollen producers, sunflowers have bee-healing properties. Both wild bees and honeybees will self-medicate on the pollen when ill or infected with pathogens, so try to avoid the hybrid varieties bred to be pollenless.