Almost 3 weeks in to the wonderful month of October and things are really transforming in the garden.
The colours are starting to pop all over the place with the Japanese maples turning their amazing, vivid shades of orange, yellow and red.
There are still many varieties that haven’t yet turned but many that are well on their way.
This is part of the joy of the autumn season in the garden; the timing of the acers are varied so that there is always something beautiful to see whenever you visit during this season.
We get asked a lot ‘when the best time is to visit’ and the answer is never simple because it depends what you love about your gardens. Autumn is always a wonderful time to visit (rain or shine) because the colours are so vivid and the garden looks it most ‘messy’ as laves fall constantly and nature reclaims the garden as we attempt to keep it tidy.
Its an atmospheric and nostalgic time to be in the garden in autumn. You get a sense that everything is letting go as the trees release their leaves and I always feel this is a metaphor for releasing tension and anxiety.
Today my visit was bathed in sunlight as the crisp day unfolded. I walked the garden at lunchtime today and its always interesting seeing how different the light is at different times of day – highlighting different trees and making certain colours pop.
I tempted a few of the Koi carp out of hiding for a small feed but they are staying deep as the cold has them preparing to hibernate for winter. But my temptation of food did allow me to capture a couple of beautiful pictures of the water.
This year we have decided to stay open for an extra 2 week (until November 15th) as the autumn colour has sometimes peaked just after we usually close – so if you are keen to visit to see the autumn colour I highly recommend visiting at the very end of October or in November before the 15th!
All season ticket holders are welcome to continue to use their passes until this new closing date too – 15th November 2022.
Check out my latest shots of the garden – pictured below –