Changing seasons

 The Gardens have an autumnal feel about them now, some of the trees already clad with red, orange and yellow leaves glowing brilliantly in the sunlight. The Victorian Flower Garden is still flowering beautifully, due in part to the wet weather this year. The Castor Oil plants (Ricinus communis) have done very well and provide a wonderful architectural feature to the bedding display. The begonias will undoubtedly continue blooming until the first frosts when the whole display will be taken out and replaced with next year’s spring bedding.

Progress on the Conservatory restoration project has been noticeably rapid over the last month. All of the ironwork has now been dismantled and taken away to be restored. The underground water tank has now been located and appears at first viewing to be in good condition. The beautiful black and white tiled floor is in really good condition and the majority of the tiles can be reused once cleaned.

Dicksonia antartica

The Ferns in the Stumpery and Fernery which sits in the shadow of Stainborough Castlehave put on plenty of new growth, reveling in the damp conditions. The tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica and D.fibrosa) are becoming established now and will be bigger and better every year. This is one of my favourite spots in the Gardens and with the addition of a couple of benches next year will become a lovely spot for quiet contemplation and watching the wildlife. 

The dahlias in the John Arnold Garden continue to show wonderfully, providing late supplies of nectar for the butterflies, moths and hoverflies still around in October.

The Gardeners have begun preparations for the coming winter months, but are still mowing the large areas of grass and trimming the hedges. The Garden volunteers have started bulb planting this week, over 2000 native daffodils have been put in so far and around 4000 snowdrops will be planted in then next fortnight.

It’s a lovely time to walk in the Gardens and given the right weather conditions over the next couple of weeks, the colours will be glorious.