'Garden' Visit: Westonbirt Arboretum

Many thanks to those of you who were so complimentary about the autumnal scene outside my back window yesterday. However, it's a mere trifle compared to the trip NAH and I made to Westonbirt Arboretum a couple of days ago. Our timing was perfect: blue skies and plenty of sunshine allowed the trees to show off at their best. I took loads of photos, but I feel nothing comes close to the atmosphere of the above shot. No doubt the best of the rest will find their way over to Sign of the Times over the next few days. In the meantime, you can have a quick tour via the Westonbirt website if you look here.

After a picnic in the warm sunshine, we started our walk in Silk Wood as we rarely go there. We were too late for the spindles' display (various deciduous Euonymus species, just their bright orange seeds were left), but timed it just right for the Acers. Silk Wood houses the national collection of maples, so I wandered around happily exclaiming over the richness of their leaf colour and trying to find the best views I could. Even NAH was impressed by the display. We also found a katsura tree which was just beginning to release its delicious candyfloss-like scent from its leaves: the light overnight frosts we've been having recently have helped and the smell was most noticeable when I bent my head towards the fallen leaves. Yum.

We also walked over to the Old Arboretum because I wanted to see the Acer Glade. This has featured on the news recently as scientists are worried that the effects of climate change will affect these trees. Sadly we didn't see them at work, but everyone was stopping in amazement when they saw the vine (Vitis coignetiae) pictured on the left. That leaf is the size of my head and thousands of them were completely clothing a stand of extremely tall trees. Being a temporary feature it didn't have a label (unlike everything else), so I made a point of finding out. This proved to be a little tricky but eventually a more helpful volunteer found one of the Forestry Commission staff who could tell me. Apparently they'd only spotted it a few days before and had had quite a long search to track down the ID themselves.

It was a satisfying ending to a grand afternoon. If you're planning on visiting Westonbirt this autumn, you must go soon as the trees are at their peak. NB to RHS members: your free entry doesn't apply during October, so you'll have to cough up the £8 entry fee like everyone else. It's worth every penny.

NB Dave at The Home Garden is hosting the Fall Colour Project again this year. You might like to visit to get your fill of autumnal hues from all over the northern hemisphere :)

Comments

  1. The Constant Gardener16 October 2009 at 10:47

    Wonderful pictures VP - what a great time to go and visit! I believe the rather lovely 19th-century gardens of Westonbirt School opposite (Arboretum and school used to be owned by the same Victorian plant collector) are opening for a restoration fundraiser in the last weeks of October so anyone who's going that direction should pop in over the road, too :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sylvia (England)16 October 2009 at 10:49

    Your first pictures is fantastic, it really creates an atmospher and makes me wish to visit. I see there is a new book on Westonbirt out, I'm sure this picture is as good as any in the book. I have never been to Westonbirt, I did get to Batsford arboretum last year which was lovely but not on the scale of Westonbirt.

    Best wishes Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anna16 October 2009 at 11:49

    Must be a marvelous place to visit and what perfect timing on your behalf VP. I see that that the Friends of Westonbirt Aboretum have an 'Autumn Colour Watch' section on their website, which they will apparently be updating as the season goes on. I will be a regular visitor :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. pollicino16 October 2009 at 13:58

    Hallo.I have visited your interesting blog.Do You want visit the my blog for an exchange visit?Grazie.
    http://internapoli-city.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nutty Gnome16 October 2009 at 14:41

    That looks like a great place to visit. Thanks for the tip! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hermes16 October 2009 at 15:51

    Perhaps one of the best places on Earth - especially at this time of year. Great cafe too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. petoskystone16 October 2009 at 15:53

    stunning photo! oaks & maples are my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  8. VP17 October 2009 at 10:31

    Hi everyone - so glad you like the pictures. This one's going to stay for a couple of days because my PC's screen has just died. NAH's rigged me up with the spare laptop, but I can't get to my pictures from there.

    Time to get cracking with the autumn digging methinks...

    CG - yes and there's a fungus foray on 31st October from 2-4pm. Westonbirt has also started a project to reconnect the arboretum with the school buildings, so that the landscape that Holford made (the guy who started it all off) is whole again. The links I put in my post will also take you to lots of historical info if anyone's interested.

    Sylvia - you flatterer! I bet the book's photos will beat mine into a tiny little cocked hat :)

    Anna - it's well worth keeping an eye on things. I must also get in touch with my frined J - she's been researching the wild flowers at Westonbirt and I seem to remember she's found some rarities there.

    Pollicino - I've been over to yours before. Nice blog, but it's more in keeping with my photography blog.

    Nutty Gnome - it's a great place. Spring is good too when all the magnolias are in flower, then there's the festival of the tree in August, the enchanted wood at Christmas...

    Petoskystone - thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. VP17 October 2009 at 10:32

    Hermes - sorry to have left you out :(

    This was the first time I'd been there after the new cafe etc. was built. I love the sedum roof on the restaurant!

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Galloping Gardener17 October 2009 at 16:46

    Oh, I'd so love to get to see those colours at Westonbirt, but am just too busy at home. Thanks for your lovely pix and I shall savour them! Charlotte

    ReplyDelete
  11. Pam/Digging19 October 2009 at 00:32

    Looks like a beautiful spot, and October must be the perfect time to visit with the changing colors.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dave@The Home Garden19 October 2009 at 02:29

    VP,

    That first photo looks like it should be in a travel brochure. It's just a perfect fall photo. I would love to see more of the Arboretum. Thanks for joining in the Fall Color Project!
    (post will be up Monday 7:30 AM (U.S. Central Time))

    ReplyDelete
  13. VP19 October 2009 at 09:37

    Charlotte - glad you could visit Westonbirt virtually anyway. Hope your real life is going well.

    Pam - welcome! It's a wonderful place at this time of the year
    :)

    Dave - glad you like it. It was good to be able to offer you a different view for this year's Fall Color Project :)

    More to come once I can get to my pictures on my PC again...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Helen19 October 2009 at 14:40

    VP, I had no idea of the candyfloss scent of katsura leaves, but as this is the second time today that I've come across this point must obviously head over to my nearest katsura and start sniffing. Thanks for the tip (and the beautiful images).

    ReplyDelete
  15. TC19 October 2009 at 17:15

    That's a great picture! I found my way here via Dave's Fall Color Project, and I'm glad I stopped in. I'd like to know what kind of tree that is please.

    ReplyDelete
  16. BilboWaggins19 October 2009 at 18:20

    Your lead photo is stunning. Do you know what tree that is? I love the gentle shape of the main trunk and branches and together with the autumn colour, it is a definite contender for the new planting at Bag End when we get the bottom of the garden cleared.

    ReplyDelete
  17. VP22 October 2009 at 21:22

    Helen - I hope you had a good sniff! Some people describe it as toffe or toffee apple instead.

    TC - welcome! Sorry for the delay with the ID, but computer problems meant I couldn't get at the photo of the tree label I had on file. It's an Acer palmatum s. matsumarae

    Bilbowaggins - hello and what a great name :) I've just added the ID in response to TC's enquiry. It's a stunner isn't it and someone's sent in a very similar photo to the BBC to grace our local weather forecast!

    ReplyDelete
  18. BilboWaggins22 October 2009 at 22:44

    Hi VP, many thanks for the tree ID, and for popping over to Bag End. Hope you enjoyed the squirrels and the other visitors who come to feast at the Bag End Buffet.

    Apologies for any delay are forbidden - you have no idea how long it takes me to get to reply to some messages {smile}

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sarah Laurence25 October 2009 at 11:48

    What a beautiful arboretum! I love that opening shot - perfect light, color and composition.

    ReplyDelete
  20. missbliss28 October 2009 at 12:55

    Hello, I have a question!

    We're going to go to Westonbirt tomorrow, but were concerned at the £5 car parking. Do you know of anywhere nearby where we can park and walk in? Is that at all possible?

    Thanks! Alice aka Frolicking Foodie

    ReplyDelete
  21. VP28 October 2009 at 14:17

    Miss Bliss - there isn't £5 parking it's free, but it's £8 each to get in irrespective of whether you walk there or arrive by car.

    The £5 car park charge is during December daytime only (9am-4pm), but admission is free during those times.

    Charges vary widely depending on the time of year or if there's a special event on. £8 is the maximum chargeable during 2009. Have a look at the Westonbirt website (there's a link from my post) if you need further information.

    ReplyDelete
  22. VP28 October 2009 at 14:18

    Sarah - thank you. Luckily we chose the perfect day to go there.

    ReplyDelete
  23. VP28 October 2009 at 22:14

    BilboWaggins - I loved my visit, but I hope those pesky grey squirrels are driven out before they harm your beautiful red ones...

    ReplyDelete

New comments are not allowed.

Your essential reads

That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide

Image
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it
Read more

Jack Go To Bed At Noon

Image
Last year this rather exotic looking flower appeared on mine and several other allotments for the first time. Having been stumped (again) by Mr Allotment Warden as to its identity, I rushed home to find out what it was. It's salsify, aka the marvellous Jack Go To Bed At Noon - named as such because its flowers always close by midday. Here you can see both open and closed flowers - making it seem even more exotic and alien than in the first picture. I think this must be the cultivated version because the flower in my Francis Rose Wild Flower Key looks exactly the same in form, but is bright yellow in colour and called meadow salsify . Its other common name is Goatsbeard, which must be a nod to the fantastic dandelion-like clock which forms the seed head. With 'parachutes' like those shown above, who knows how far our plotted plants came from. I rather like the photographic dissection of the seedhead found in this link . Salsify is edible: its lateral shoots and fl
Read more

Red Nose Day - Gardening Jokes Anyone?

Image
The nation goes ever so slightly bonkers on Red Nose Day - hurrah! Previously, it's been very easy to join in - usually via a dress down day at work plus lots of people up to mad things at the station and in the office. Everyone smiling for once - it's a real feel good day and all in a good cause. This year's different - every day's a dress down day for me now - my friend L suggested yesterday that perhaps I could have a dress up day instead and whilst that's a good idea, I confess that ballgowns and tiaras don't really feature in my wardrobe: scruffy student's always been my favourite look. So my Red Nose Day contribution for this year is to compile a list of gardening related jokes. For each one (clean ones only please) you leave in the comments below, I'll make a donation of 50p to the cause. Here's a few for starters just to get you warmed up: Q Why do potatoes make good detectives? A Because they keep their eyes peeled. Q What did the grape
Read more

Salad Days: Mastering Lettuce

Image
I've decided one of my salad challenges for this year is to grow as many lettuce varieties as I can, ready for the publication of my planned Factsheet* later on. The idea is to grow as many of the Tried and Trusted lettuce varieties last year's Salad Challengers helped compile, then provide a visual guide and as many lettuce facts as I can muster. So far I've found around half of those listed**. Then naturally whilst I was out searching - because such is the way with seeds - a number of other varieties found their way home too ;) A couple of weeks ago I sowed 22 varieties***. Just the simple act of sowing them has me intrigued. Why are some lettuce seeds black and others white****? They split into about half white to half black in my sample and as far as I can tell it's nothing to do with whether they're a type of cos, iceberg, or whatever. I sowed them indoors and popped them into a propagator on the windowsill. The soil's too cold outside for sowing
Read more

VPs VIPs: Derry Watkins of Special Plants

Image
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Derry Watkins at her home, garden and nursery - the acclaimed Special Plants - just a few miles along the road from me. I first met Derry at one of her open garden days last year and was keen to find out more about her wonderful garden and running an independent nursery. She specialises in tender perennials and regularly goes on plant hunting trips to find new treasures, particularly in South Africa. As well as running Special Plants and opening her garden under the NGS scheme , Derry holds day courses at her nursery, hosts Special Tuesdays from April until September, lectures and has written a couple of books. How did you find your way from Connecticut to the UK? I'd started a biodynamic vegetable garden in Connecticut and we used to have people come along at weekends to help out. A particular young man turned up: he returned many times and at the end of the summer I married him. So it was all down to love? Isn't that the
Read more

#mygardenrightnow: heading into summer with the Chelsea Fringe

Image
Ahhhhhh, that's better! I love walking through dewy grass in bare feet, not that there's much in the way of grass on my back lawn this weekend. My wild and woolly lawn has morphed into meadow of sorts this month, which even NAH admits looks attractive*. It's also proved a great source for my Flowers for mum project so far, yielding self-sown perennial cornflowers, lamb's ears, and lemon balm in addition to the blooms you can see. These originated from elsewhere in the garden, the ox-eye daisies must have blown in from the A350 nearby. * = he got very stroppy about the weeds aka self-sown foxgloves in the lawn one year, so he's come along a bit since then. Skimble's demanding to say hello to you too. He does enjoy the patio when it warms up. If the embedded video doesn't work try this link instead. The Nectaroscordum are a revelation. I planted the bulbs around 2 years ago, but it's only this year they've bloomed properly. The bee
Read more

The Resilient Garden

Image
  Part of Tom Massey's Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court I've been pondering VP Gardens a lot lately. Last year's drought conditions set me off initially, then our harsher than usual winter combined with this summer's flip and flop weather means the thinking continues. It's a huge topic which I freely admit I'm struggling to get my head around. Tom Massey's Resilient Garden  at Hampton Court recently  tackled this topic brilliantly and was a timely interlude which gave me much food for thought. There he encapsulated the detailed research he'd found which informed both his show garden and book of the same name. I think it's one of the most important show gardens I've ever seen. It's clear the way I garden needs to change so that I have my own resilient garden. I haven't worked out the exact details yet, but Tom's book plus a couple of others (see below), alongside the rainwater management handout from the show garden's  sponso
Read more

Testing Times: Tomatoes

Image
  I've run a couple of tomato trials this year. The first is a revisit of the biochar trial with Oxford University I attempted some years ago (with a different organisation this time), and the second is a trial of a water gadget called Plantsurge which I was given to try at Malvern Spring Show earlier this year. Most of you have probably heard of biochar already and the claim that this inert, carbon-rich material can help soil fertility and plant health. The RHS information in the above link says results can be mixed, with reduced effects found in alkaline soils. This may help to explain the lack of difference I found in my previous trial as VP Gardens is on a lime-rich soil. Plantsurge is a different beast altogether. It's a strong magnet which is attached to a hosepipe as shown in the photo above. It's claimed that it softens water, with the result more like watering with rainwater. The higher nitrogen found in rainwater is thought to be beneficial to plants. Gardener
Read more

Chelsea Fringe 2014: Shows of Hands - Episode I

Image
The gloves NAH used to build the raised bed . The effects are L to R, top to bottom:  Original photo, Warhol, HDR, Green tint, B&W, Posterize, Boost, Cross process and Sepia Welcome to Shows of Hands - my Chelsea Fringe project for 2014! As you can see I've been having a bit of a play around in Pic Monkey for my first contribution. You're welcome to join in between now and 8th June 2014. The idea behind this year's project is to highlight the tool most precious to a gardener: their hands. How do I take part? It's simple. All you need to do is take a photo of hand(s) in a gardening context and then share it via your blog or other social media (such as Twitter or Facebook), then make sure I know you've done so. I've set up Mr Linky below for your blog contributions. The Chelsea Fringe photo on the right sidebar links to this post, so you can easily find it again when you're ready to add your contribution. If you share your photo on Twitter,
Read more

Make Use of Mildew

Image
On my garden patrol this morning I spotted some powdery mildew on a couple of my new Verbena bonariensis plants. I suppose it was almost inevitable as I prefer to grow my plants hard - this means no water for them unless they look absolutely desperate. This approach means plants root themselves more deeply and have a better chance of survival during spells of dry weather like we've had lately. However, it also means I run the risk of problems like today's, especially with any garden newbies planted late in the season. We've had a good drop of rain overnight, so this should help my plants survive. I'll mulch them later today to help lock in the moisture as it's water stress which encourages the mildew to take hold. I've also removed the infected leaves and sprayed the rest with a milky drink.* I'm also pleased to find there's a use for my infected leaves. Oliver Ellingham at Reading University has started a PhD - sponsored by the RHS - researchi
Read more