News and Views No 10 October 2025

Hello Everyone 

Well, Autumn has arrived and has nearly gone all in one month. Due to the very dry conditions the trees had already begun to drop their leaves now the heavy rain is knocking off the rest. However, I arrived just in time to capture some of the beauty to be seen around the garden. 

A visit to the Arboretum was first on my list. The Quercus rubra, the Red Oak tree, photo 1, stood out in the sunshine. Also here was the Fraxinus angustifolia 'Raywood', the Ash 'Raywood', supported by the Ailanthus, the Tree of Heaven, photo 2. The colours looked amazing in the afternoon sunshine. Leaving the Arboretum I stopped to admire the Gleditsia triacanthos, the Honey Locust tree, photo 3. The flowers in Spring are quite inconspicuous but in Autumn the seed pods are the star of the show. I can't help thinking that they look like socks drying in the wind, photo 4. 

Moving on to the Front Lawn, the Red Acer shines out beautifully all the time but especially in the sunshine, photo 5. The house always stands proud and is never over-shadowed by its showy neighbours in the garden, photo 6. On the pathway here was this lovely Salvia 'Phyllis Fancy', photo 7. It has blue-purple flowers with white centres and is drought tolerant as are most woody salvias. Further on is the Parrotia persica, the Persian Ironwood tree, which always puts on a good show in Autumn, photo 8. 

Walking around the pond the Liquidambar styraciflua, the Sweet Gum tree, was looking fabulous, photo 9. The leaves are all shades of red and amber, photo 10. In the background you can see that the Fraxinus angustifolia, the Ash trees behind the house, have lost all of their leaves but only a week before they still had half of them, photo 11. 

Then I decided I should go to the Rock Garden. The ponds there have really settled in and look just as Mr Bowles built them, photo 12. What I do think is remarkable is the little bridge over the waterfall. This was completely removed and rebuilt. The workmen certainly worked wonders here, photo 13. The view across the Alpine Meadow was beautiful too, photo 14. 

Back in the garden on the New River Lawn is the second of the Liquidambars in the garden, photo 15. They all behave differently, this one is shaded by the Holm Oak so never changes colour all the way down but looks like traffic lights, red, amber and green. The third Liquidambar styraciflua is in the Kitchen Garden but has already lost it's leaves, photo 16. The Tulip Terrace is still going strong and I think I might make a note of what is planted there as they have certainly survived a contrary year weather-wise, photo 17. 

In the Wild Garden the Rhus typhina, or Sumac, looked lovely, photo 18. However, the Acer at the back of the photo which is normally the star of the show had already lost most of its leaves. Nearby was this splendid Yucca thompsoniana, photo 19. I always think of them as tender but I believe they are more robust than I realise. At the end of the New River Lawn are the Ostriches guarding the bridge. This one makes me smile because I imagine he thinks he's hiding behind the Gaura lindheimeri from us, photo 20. 

In the Hollow Lawn area is the Ginkgo biloba, definitely in my top 5 trees. The leaves change to a soft buttery yellow colour in Autumn, photo 21. When viewed up close they look like clouds of yellow butterflies, photo 22. Nearby is the Taxus baccata, the ancient Yew, which is covered in berries from head to toe, photo 23. The red flesh surrounding the seed is edible but the seed itself is highly toxic. The birds that feast on these berries are clever enough to know this and spit the seeds out, photos 24 and 25.  

In the Eremurus Border is the Arbutus menziesii, the Menzies Strawberry tree, named after the Scottish naturalist Archibald Menzies who noted it on the Vancouver Exhibition 1791 to 1795. It is another tree absolutely smothered in berries from top to toe, photo 26. Every inch on the branches is carrying berries, photo 27. At the end of the border is the Berberis 'Georgei', photo 28. It has been a good year for berberis everywhere.