Wonderful walks at Winkworth Arboretum, Surrey

It's all change here in England this week! After a rather watery summer, when the promised days of sunshine faded into a memory, and temperatures made history because they were so low, we've finally been rewarded with our long-promised heatwave, and are breaking all the records for September! Yesterday, temperatures crept up to thirty degrees centigrade in southern England, and it felt like summer for the first time in weeks. So perhaps this year nature is giving us a reprieve before the snow comes, because forecasters say we'll be blanketed in the white stuff by the end of October!

I've been amazed by how fast the trees are changing colour here in the south, and have spent the last week looking at gardens that normally peak in October. My quest for autumn colour finally took me to Winkworth Arboretum in Surrey - the 100-acre paradise created by Dr Wilfred Fox some 80 years ago. Fox was a medical doctor specialising in dermatology, but when he wasn't in his London consulting rooms, his great passion was trees, and in 1937 he started creating the arboretum that survives today.

Dr Fox drew much of his inspiration from other English arboreta including Sheffield Park and Westonbirt. He had been involved in founding the Roads Beautifying Association prior to purchasing Winkworth and in 1948, was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour by the Royal Horticultural Society for his work in promoting ornamental street tree planting. 

When he first purchased Winkworth, he concentrated on maples, which give such fine autumn colour, but in later years he planted azaleas, magnolias and Japanese cherries. The combination makes for spectacular colour displays in both spring and autumn. In 1952 Dr Fox gave 60 acres of his woodland paradise to the National Trust; five years later they acquired a further 35 acres; and today Winkworth is classed as one of Britain's great arboreta. 

Winkworth is also famous for its carpets of bluebells in springtime, although the trees make it a haven for walkers and woodland lovers throughout the year. Just a word of warning though - it's hillside position means that it's not ideal for disabled visitors - to enjoy all aspects of the arboretum, you need to descend into the valley, and even though there are ample woodland paths, the terrain is steep and many of the trails include steps (above), that make wheelchair access difficult.

Wordless Wednesday - Autumn Colours 1

Autumn colours at Sheffield Park, East Sussex

September Gardens IV - Scotney Castle

The moated manor house at Scotney draw visitors from all over the world

What better garden to visit, than the grounds of a romantic castle on a glorious September day? Scotney Castle in Kent is spectacular at any time of year, because of the undulating terrain that divides the main house from the medieval moated ruin at the bottom of the valley. Particularly memorable in spring time when the rhododendrons and azaleas make a sea of colour, but just as eye-catching at any other time of year and now, as the leaves are beginning to change colour, a joyous place to walk and enjoy the views down into the Bewl Valley.

The manor was disassembled by former owner Edward Hussey for effect!

The moated house (above) proved to be too damp to live in, so in 1836, Scotney's owners invited William Sawrey Gilpin, nephew of Picturesque-style creator, William Gilpin, to their home, and work began on the new house up the hill, which is open to the public today. But it's the medieval property in the valley that causes visitors to gasp as they see it reflected in the circular moat, even though the walls were removed for effect by former owner Edward Hussey, who wanted a romantic landscape to reflect on from his new castle at the top of the hill.

Part of Scotney's charm is the woodland walks ...

The grounds at Scotney comprise many acres of woodland, which suffered badly in the great storm of 1987, resulting in a complete replanting by the National Trust in the last 30 years. The results are impressive given the extensive use of rhododendrons and azalea, which make a colourful and sweeping landscape and allow glimpses of the moated manor below to maximum effect as you wander down the valley. Both spring and summer seasons offer spectacular colour displays!

Circular beds in the grounds of the moated medieval castle

Christopher Hussey, well-known art historian and grandson of Edward Hussey III, who built the new house on the site, using stone from the quarry, resided here for nearly 20 years with his wife Betty, during the 20th century, and left the property to the National Trust on his death in 1970. This was in keeping with his family motto: "Vix ea nostra voco", meaning "I scarcely call these things our own". 

Glorious autumn colours add to Scotney's charm at this time of year

Today, the Scotney estate offers visitors the chance to view the house at the top of the hill, with its magnificent views over the surrounding countryside; the chance to walk  in undulating countryside; and an opportunity to explore the quarry, which has been turned into a garden and the moated medieval manor, with its herb garden. It would be hard to find a more romantic setting than this, especially early in the morning, when the mists rise off the water!

The new house, built by Edward Hussey III

Scotney is open Wednesday to Sunday until the end of October and continues to open at weekends until the middle of December. It re-opens again in February, in anticipation of the abundant snowdrops. The whole estate extends to nearly 800 acres, and offers wonderful winter walks. It is also close to Sissinghurst if you want to visit another romantic castle garden with an interesting history. 

Sarah Raven's Cutting Garden - NGS opening this weekend!

The Cutting Garden, filled with colourful blooms in late September

Although autumn is definitely on the way and the leaves are changing colour here in southern England, there are still gardens worth visiting when the weather is kind - and if you want a day out with a difference this weekend, head for Sarah Raven's Cutting Garden in East Sussex which opens for the NGS on Saturday from 9.30 - 16.00. It's still filled with colour as autumn approaches and well worth a visit if you want to see a real slice of English garden paradise!

The nectar garden outside the front door of Perch Hill Farm

Sarah Raven comes from a long line of gardeners and both the farm and the business she runs from Perch Hill, which is home to her "Cutting Garden" are a tribute to her inspirational approach to gardening, cooking and the use of flowers - both as decoration in the garden, and in the home. Daughter of the late John Raven, distinguished botanist and Faith, who created a magical garden at Docwra's Manor in Cambridgeshire, that I have yet to visit, she has created her own little paradise in East Sussex.

The rose garden

Hidden down a narrow country lane with passing places, Perch Hill Farm is home to an impressive array of vegetables and flowers that will make most gardeners want to change the way they garden at home. It's a glorious example of how to make a small space work, with colour and variety, as well as a practical layout that is guaranteed to give you flowers in the home and endless fruit and vegetables that you can use when you cook. 

View through the Cutting Garden

But Sarah's talents don't stop in the garden. She's also a well-known garden author, runs a selection of courses from Perch Hill, has a flourishing mail order business, and teaches cooking and flower arranging. And when she's not here, she's at nearby Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, where she lives with her husband, Adam Nicolson in his ancestral home, as grandson of legendary gardener and author, Vita Sackville-West and Nigel Nicolson. 

I've certainly waxed lyrical about The Cutting Garden here, but have every reason to. I've been trying to visit for several months, but have never managed to make an open day, and looking at what's on offer, I for one will be doing some of my Christmas shopping through Sarah's web site. I'm even tempted to do one of the cooking courses on offer next year! 

Wordless Wednesday - Autumn Colours

September Gardens III - As far as the eye can see in Sussex!

Autumn is definitely in the air at Nymans Garden and the leaves are beginning to turn

There's no doubt about it ... autumn's in the air and when I went briefly to Nymans this afternoon, the acers were already turning orange and yellow. Of course, the wind, rain and unusually low temperatures we've experienced in the last few weeks, haven't helped, but it was the light that made me realise that autumn has come early this year. When you see flame-coloured leaves against a watery blue sky, you know winter's is on the way!

The .... garden, with its striking topiary 

Nymans is an impressive garden to visit at any time of year because of its hilltop position, great open vistas and wonderful views over the surrounding countryside. Former home of the Messel family, who were great plant collectors, this is a National Trust garden undergoing a lot of change at the moment, and it's well on the way to becoming a flagship property along with Sissinghurst and Hidcote Manor. 

There are many new planting schemes at Nymans this autumn

The main house was largely destroyed by fire in 1947 but makes an impressive backdrop for the ever-changing gardens around it. This autumn sees a lot of new grasses in situ, and you can see there's much work in progress throughout the grounds, particularly in the rock garden. Gone is the former viewing platform, and there's a whole new garden and planting scheme planned here for next year.

You'll be amazed by the abundant and eye-catching planting at Sussex Prairies

Just as impressive, but totally different, is the Sussex Prairie Garden just down the road near Henfield - quite spectacular in September as every plant is in bloom and you can wander through the garden gazing at planting schemes that are not just eye catching, but unique. There is no other garden like this anywhere in the country! Owners Paul and Pauline McBride have been nurturing this plot for the last five years and their endeavours have certainly paid off.

Carefully planned colour schemes add to the opulence at Sussex Prairies

Sussex Prairies is open Wednesday - Friday (11.00-17.00) until the end of September and is well worth making a detour for if you're visiting Nymans. The views here are just as good, but the outlook is completely different. And if you fancy a Flower Arranging Masterclass, click the link to find out more!

September gardens II - Rudyard Kipling's Sussex

The Elms - rented by Rudyard Kipling for just $1.60 a week

Many great writers have lived in and loved Sussex, with its hilly landscape and glimpses of the sea, including Rudyard Kipling, who moved here in 1897 and stayed until he died. He lived first in Rottingdean, near Brighton, when he moved into his aunt's holiday home, just a stone's throw from the sea. It was here that he wrote many of his much-loved "Just So" stories. The family were so happy in the village, they finally rented a house for themselves -The Elms (above) on the edge of the village green - for the princely sum of three guineas a week (approx $1.60).

The Kipling Gardens at the rear of Elms House have been restored during the last 30 years

The former walled garden adjoining Elms House became completely derelict during the latter half of the 20th century, and in 1980, had fallen prey to a potential housing development. But the local Rottingdean Preservation Society managed to raise the required £51,000 to purchase the land and since then the gardens - named after Kipling - have been restored and saved as a public space. There is even a bowling green at the heart of the garden.

In 1902 Kipling and his family bought their own home in East Burwash - Bateman's - a handsome Jacobean house, in the heart of the lush, green Sussex Weald. It had no bathroom, no electricity and only partial running water when they moved there, but Kipling fell in love with the house, and as one of the most famous writers in England, his annual salary of £5,000 was more than enough to purchase the property and make all the necessary changes to turn it into a family home. He remained here until his death in 1936. 

The rose garden - still in full bloom in September

Kipling fans will love the house, which is filled with fine furniture and paintings, and gives a real insight into the way the family lived a hundred years ago. The study, in particular, is filled with Kipling memorabilia, including his typewriter and his precious globe. He was always a great traveller, so it was perhaps surprising that he settled for so long in one place. But he loved Bateman's, and the family did a lot of entertaining here.

The gardens are charming, and feature a working mill house, large orchard and a spectacular rose garden in front of the house, that's still looking wonderful, even so late in the season. There is no structured garden here, with herbaceous borders and walkways, just open spaces, views of the house and a fine river walk. The whole atmosphere is very relaxed and you really feel that Kipling is not far away when you walk around the property. Close enough to Merriments Gardens to combine the two in a day, and certainly one to put on your Wish List if you're a Kipling fan!

Memories of Cuba II - Las Terrazas, where Green is GREEN!

Las Terrazas is a UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve

A couple of hours drive west of Havana is a nature reserve called Las Terrazas, high in the Sierra del Rosario mountain range. It's a strange and somewhat haunting place, which although beautiful, seems to have a sense of sadness. It's hard to explain unless you've been there, but feels as though you've been left on a disused film set. All the props are there - stunning views, a forest canopy, sounds of birds and impressive plants and foliage - but somehow, the place lacks spirit and the actors went home long ago!

Men, not machines, do the work in the Cuban countryside

This region was once one of the poorest in Cuba and deforestation was so severe that it threatened to impact on both the ecology and survival of the area. But in 1967 the Cuban government stepped in and orchestrated a massive project which led to the replanting of 10 million trees across a 5,000 acre area. They wanted to turn the area into an eco-tourism centre in the hills in the province of Pinar del Rio, where tourism was sustainable within an area of outstanding natural beauty.

View over the valley from La Moka Hotel in Las Terrazas

Green is really GREEN here, as you can see from these pictures - in reality, I've never had such an overwhelming sense of green in my life - the grass, the plants and the way the people live! Las Terrazas was designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1984 by UNESCO. The main tourist hotel - La Moka - is a brilliant design feat, perched high on the hilltop, surrounded by trees and indeed, with one large tree growing through the atrium.

The hotel was constructed around the trees in Las Terrazas

Excellent by foreign standards, this is the place to stay in Las Terrazas. The staff are wonderful, the gardens are beautiful and the views outstanding! But even with all the natural beauty, high standards and an aparently idyllic life, there is something lacking here. There is music, but it's muted; there is nature, but it appears orchestrated; and somehow, there is a sense of Stepford wifery and you almost expect perfect wax-like images to appear from around a corner.

Early morning view across the mountainside village

If you are looking for typical Cuban entertainment - music, salsa and dancing - this is not the place be. But those in search of nature will enjoy their stay here. You can walk for miles through the forest; visit the old sugar plantations in the area; and get a sense of how this former agricultural community once thrived. You'll find spectacular plants and foliage and hear the birds singing in the trees. But you won't get a night out on the town here - we tried, but found ourselves in a village hall that closed before midnight!

Las Terrazas will leave you feeling green!

Definitely worth making a stop here on your way to Vinales, where they make some of the finest cigars in Cuba, but don't expect music or dancing. This is a different kind of Cuba, where you'll be able to appreciate what can be achieved between man and nature! Perfect for a break from the frenetic pace of Havana - the city that never sleeps - and great for a change of gear en route to the heart of Cuba's agricultural communities further west...

Charismatic gardens of Cuba 1 - Havana

Spectacular Cuban September sunset reflected in water

I can't write about English gardens this week because the weather is so appalling, it's virtually impossible to leave the house. We're currently experiencing monsoon style rain (which is good for the garden, but bad for the hair), gale force winds and unusually cold temperatures, which have forced me to turn on the central heating in the first week of September! So garden visiting is not on the agenda this week.

The pace of life outside Havana is slow and any form of transport goes ....

But seeing as I'm stuck in the house, I thought I'd reflect on where I was this time last year - Cuba. And although we had some of the most spectacular electric storms I'd ever seen in the evenings during our visit, the weather was, for the most part, idyllic compared to what we're suffering here in the UK right now. But even the fierce early evening thunder storms do little to dampen the spirit of the Cuban people and everywhere you go there are smiling faces, fantastic music and wonderful sights to see.  

Early morning in Havana, when the streets are still empty

Cuba is still a no-go zone for American passport holders, but that must surely change one day. I was lucky enough to visit this magical country last autumn and was simply amazed by what I saw. The vegetation is tropical; the island is virtually self-sufficient (it has to be with all the embargoes in place); the people are wonderful and the gardens are stunning, if somewhat run down, due to lack of funds. But you'll find plants and trees here that are hard to find anywhere else in the world.

One form of transport in Havana is the "Coco" - an egg-shaped three wheeler

We started our holiday in Havana - one of the most vibrant and interesting cities I've visited anywhere yet. The old part of the city has been designated a World Heritage site and work is afoot to restore all the buildings to their former glory. But it's not just the magnificent buildings that give Havana it's lively heart beat - it's the constant sound of music, the welcoming people and the buzz in the streets. Most striking of all is the way that every Cuban greets you and wants to show off and share their country.

The Japanese Garden, designed by Yoshicuni Araki at the heart of the Cuban National Botanic Garden

And then there's the Cuban National Botanic Garden - some 10 miles from the city centre, but well worth making the effort to visit. The gardens cover more than 600 hectares (1500 acres), and although much of the terrain is wild, there's a Japanese garden at the centre (above), designed by landscape architect, Yoshicuni Araki. When you arrive, you pay your entrance fee at the gate and a tractor shows up with a trailer hitched up behind. You travel in the trailer and are taken on a tour of the gardens, which showcase some 90 species of palms.

We found this elderly gentleman (featured on the cover of the Lonely Planet Cuba guide) in Havana

Guide books don't do this magnificent country justice - as we discovered when we were there. But I hope you'll join me on my tour of Cuba in the next few days - until the weather clears up sufficiently to start visiting English gardens again. The gentleman in the picture above, was used as a former cover photograph on the Lonely Planet guide, which we used to navigate around Cuba - we found him sitting in a cafe in downtown Havana and took his picture! 

Gardens to see in September - Merriments, East Sussex

Looking through the hedge into the water garden - Merriments is all about vistas

With autumn in the air, and torrential downpours around the country, it's hard to find gardens to visit at this time of year that still look good. But Merriments at Hurst Green in East Sussex is the exception, and when I visited last week, I was really impressed by the wonderful collage of colour here, when other gardens are definitely past their prime.

This four-acre garden is filled with ponds, pools, bridges and pergolas, set against a backdrop of boldly planted, colour-themed borders. And most impressive of all is the labelling, so if you see a plant you like, you have the opportunity to buy it in the well-stocked nursery at the end of your visit. Any budding plants person or novice gardener would be well advised to visit, to get good ideas for their own plot.

The gravel garden

Certainly a great place to go at any time of year, but looking particularly good at this time of year are the Gravel garden (above) and the water garden at the entrance (top and bottom), with its wide rills and dense planting. There are also lots of shady arbors to sit and enjoy the views.

Merriments is close enough to Sissinghurst to enjoy both properties in an afternoon, and Great Dixter is also within easy reach. But hurry, because all these gardens close at the end of September. Definitely one to put on your September visiting list, before we get into the autumn colours.