While visiting my parents-in-law during half term, my husband Keith and I took a few hours out to visit Westonbirt National Arboretum, in Gloucestershire. Reports in the local press proclaimed an exceptional year for autumn colour among the trees and shrubs in this huge collection, which has been owned and managed by the Forestry Commission since 1956.
Although the main visitor areas were extremely busy (lots of people obviously had the same idea as we had), as in the Lake District we found that once we were more than a few yards from the main pathways, numbers declined dramatically. We were able to wander around enjoying the fruits and leaf colours, vying with each other to identify species correctly before reading the labels.
Westonbirt was founded by Robert Halford in 1829. Together with his son George, Halford commissioned plant hunters to bring back examples of rare and unknown trees from all over the temperate world.
Using shelterbelts of yew, box and laurel they began collections of azaleas, magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias. They constructed a series of radiating pathways or rides through the trees, which are linked by informal paths and glades.
The collections have been added to by succeeding owners, and now consist of more than 18,000 trees and shrubs, with around 3,500 different species, including many now rare and endangered in their native habitats.
As you walk along the rides at this time of the year you can see the wonderful glow of red and scarlet oaks, the luminous yellows of lime and tulip trees, and the russet, orange and gold of maples and Persian ironwood.
Although the guidebook states that the Halfords decided to follow ‘an aesthetic rather than a scientific blueprint’, the arboretum now has what one of my gardening friends would call a ‘stamp collection’ feel to it.
In the most successful parks and gardens, trees and shrubs are planted for their effect within a framework of other plants. Here one is left with the impression that things were planted regardless of their horticultural merit or the proximity of complementary plants, just for the sake of having one of everything. Yes, there were some wonderful specimens, but the overall effect was slightly disappointing.
My sense of autumnal anticlimax was immediately dispelled on returning to Cumbria where I found our own countywide display of autumn colour in full swing. The larches, beech, birch and oaks were all looking superb, complemented by a backdrop of bracken and highlighted by some of the most amazingly coloured maples I have ever seen.
Why go any further afield looking for good autumn colour when we have all this on our own doorstep?
Jobs for the gardener
If you haven’t been feeding the birds all year, put some winter feeders out now. Hang them high enough to be out of the reach of cats, but close enough to the house so you can see the birds from a window.
Lift dahlias as soon as the foliage has been blackened by frost. Clean up the tubers and store them in a dry, frost-free shed or greenhouse.
Clear spent crops from the vegetable plot and dig over the ground as it becomes vacant. Sow a green manure, such as field beans, which can be dug into the soil in spring to provide extra nitrogen for next year’s crops.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article