Wordless Wednesday - Autumn Colours at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens

Wonderful to visit at any time of year, but looking quite lovely now with all the autumn colours is the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens at Romsey in Hampshire. And if you're really quick, you can catch the sculpture in the garden, in situ until the end of the month.

Will Giles' Exotic Garden treat in Norfolk

Will Giles' Exotic Garden in Norwich, Norfolk is one that I've been trying to get to for a couple of years, but both time and weather have conspired against me and it remains at the top of my wish list for 2012! But fear not, my great friends Paul and Pauline McBride of Sussex Prairies, who are working with me on the Disha Hospital project in Rajasthan made it there today and kindly sent both pictures and words to make a welcome guest entry for "The Galloping Gardener". Thank you Paul and Pauline. And just so English readers know - the garden opens for the last time this Sunday, see information below!

The Tropic of Norwich

Mid October and here we are within a stones throw of Norwich city centre, surrounded by lush tropical bananas, breadfruit and ginger plants!! Will Giles has created this amazing tropical haven on a steeply sloping site, overlooked by a huge tree house perched in a mature oak in the middle of the garden (right). It’s only half an acre but feels much bigger and the winding paths invite exploration and pull you into the jungle ahead. 

As you climb up through the glossy and flourishing plantings you hear the subtle cascade of a Caribbean waterfall as it plunges down the hillside into a dark and secret pool. A dramatic, flint-lined series of levels draw you into a welcoming viewing cabin at the top of the garden where you get perfect views down over the terraced slopes. The quirky tree house is almost a treat too far with its golden obelisk cheekily topping its lofty excess!  Give me some wild tigers and fantastical papingoes and we can be transported to new kingdoms!

Our particular favourites were the huge Alocasias, Persicarias, Crotons and Brugmansia. Will has torn up the rule book, with most of these tender beauties surviving temperatures down to -11 C!

The last chance to visit this tropical paradise this year is this Sunday and opening hours are 13.00 - 17.00 so hurry to catch the wonderful colours and exhuberant textures of this truly hidden gem at the heart of this glorious cathedral city.

Paul and Pauline McBride.

Best of British castle gardens II - Hampton Court, Hever and The World Garden at Lullingstone

Hampton Court castle in Herefordshire

My quest for castle gardens took me to pastures new this year. First to Herefordshire, to Hampton Court - a fine castle which has origins back to the 15th century, with a first-class garden. Completely renovated by an American, who bought the property in 1994 - this is one of the best-kept gardens I've seen yet. It's a good combination of landscaped areas and ebullient planting and comes complete with maze and water garden. There's also a fine Dutch garden (below).

The Dutch Garden at Hampton Court (Herefordshire)

Next stop is Hever Castle, which I've featured many times before here, because it also has one of the finest gardens in Britain and a collection of statuary that will make you sit up and stare - all acquired in Italy by former owner, Lord Astor, who also lived at Cliveden in Buckinghamshire. Hever has all the magical attributes that a 14th century castle should - a moat, a water maze, an impressive lake and following Lord Astor's involvement - one of the finest Italianate gardens in Britain.

Hever Castle in Kent is open throughout the year

Another really unusual castle property is Lullingstone in Kent - home of the Hart-Dyke family and now the site of Tom Hart-Dyke's amazing World Garden. He was captured by South American bandits  whilst on an orchid-hunting trip and spent several months in captivity in the jungle - it was during this time he conceived the idea of the World Garden which would allow him to showcase plants from all over the globe. He has worked wonders with his innovative ideas and part of the charm of this garden is the views of the castle and church behind.

The World Garden at Lullingstone showcases plants from all over the planet

An Englishman's home is his castle! British castle gardens I

Ardtornish, seen through the trees in October

Britain has more than its fair share of castles - originally built to protect their inhabitants against marauding invaders, but now many of them are in the stewardship of organisations like the National Trust and open to the public. We're also incredibly lucky that many of them have beautiful gardens and in this first of three blog entries about castles, I shall review some I've seen in the last couple of years, starting in the far north of the country at Ardtornish, home of the Raven family, which has a magnificent garden, filled with trees, and exceptionally beautiful at this time of year.

Ardtornish has wonderful views over the Loch and many fine specimen trees

Ardtornish is a plantsman's garden filled with many fine shrubs, specimen trees and fine views over the adjacent loch. It's also the former home of John Raven, the well-known botanist who wrote "The Botanist's Garden" and Sarah Raven, who runs the Cutting Garden at Perch Hill. A visit to this garden makes a wonderful day out if you're up in this part of Scotland, because you can take a ferry from Oban and admire the impressive Highland scenery.

Arundel Castle is an impressive sight when viewed from below

Arundel Castle in Sussex is still home to the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk. It's an impressive sight when you see it from below, perched on top of a hill. The present Duchess has completely redesigned the gardens in the last 15 years and the new Collector Earl's Garden (below) has breathed new life into the castle grounds. Opened by Prince Charles in 2008, it's a bold, theatrical design conceived by Julian and Isabel Bannerman, who also designed the water garden at nearby Woolbeding.

Collector Earl's garden at Arundel Castle

Caerhays Castle in Cornwall, is spectacular in its own right when seen from the sea, or from the road as you approach. Famous for its fantastic spring displays of rhododendrons, magnolias, camellias and azaleas, the garden is one of the best in this part of the country when in flower. But the season here is short and the garden only remains open from March until the end of May, so make sure you get there if you can to see the dazzling spring blossoms.

Caerhays Castle in Cornwall

This is the first of three castle features scheduled for October, so watch this space if you're looking for more castle gardens to visit in 2012. As the evenings draw in, I shall be posting more about some of the wonderful castles here in the UK that will delight gardeners and their families.

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is in flower." Catch that autumn colour around the UK!

Benmore, Scotland

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire

Wakehurst Place, Sussex

Savill Garden, Surrey

Scotney Castle, Kent

Trengwainton, Cornwall

And don't forget these other spectacular autumn gardens:

Kew Gardens, London
Sheffield Park, East Sussex
The Garden House, Devon

Winkworth Arboretum, Surrey

Grand gardens of Britain - Cliveden

 "Fountain of Love" by Thomas Waldo Story

Britain has many gardens on a scale so grand, you can do little else than gaze at them! Cliveden is one such property - former home of the rich and famous; surrounded by scandal over the years and burnt to the ground twice, today's house was built in 1850 for the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland. It sits on top of a hill with astounding views over the surrounding countryside and although the house is now a luxury hotel, the gardens, which are open to the public throughout the year, are run by the National Trust.

Today's Italianate house is the third built here - two former properties were destroyed by fire

No expense was spared when the gardens were laid out in the first half of the 18th century, and subsequent owners of the property made their own imprint on the grounds. Many of the impressive statues, sarcophagi and giant urns that grace the gardens were acquired by William Waldorf Astor, the American millionaire who had a gift for acquiring monumental masonry from the Italian aristocracy. His impressive collection is housed between Cliveden, which he purchased in 1893 and his second country home, Hever Castle. 

The parterre, best viewed from the Upper Terrace of the house

Elsewhere in the grounds you'll find other architectural edifices including an amphitheatre,  a grand stone pavilion and an octagon temple, plus the famous "Fountain of Love", which Astor commissioned from a fellow American - Thomas Waldo Story - his monumental fountains also grace Blenheim Palace and Ascott. But it's the scale of the property that will impress you - everything here seems larger than life - and combine the garden with the views, and you'll have a memorable day out.

The Water Garden with its pagoda

Elsewhere in the grounds there's a parterre, best viewed from the Upper Terrace of the house; a magnificent ilex grove, a water garden, complete with pagoda acquired from the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867; a Memorial Garden commemorating those who died in the great wars; a Secret Garden; and a Long Garden bordered with box hedges and topiary. And a new feature at Cliveden is the maze, installed last year. 

The Long Garden

Cliveden is not for the feint hearted. The grounds extend to hundreds of acres and you'll need at least half a day to take in all the various different garden features. You can also tour part of the house and see how high society lived in days gone by. Ever since the first house was built, the property has attracted socialites and political scandal. It was here that the Profumo Affair of the 1960s erupted. But even if former scandal and intrigue are of no appeal, you'll love the gardens and you could always go on to Ascott, which is just a short distance away.

Blazing the pumpkin trail in Cornwall - Trengwainton

Trengwainton enjoys a microclimate and offers year-round interest for visitors

Trengwainton in Cornwall is about as far west as you can get in the UK before falling into the ocean! This delectable 25-acre garden enjoys some of the mildest weather in Britain and the planting here is, for the most part, sub-tropical. The result is a wonderful combination of exotics, which thrive in a micro-climate, alongside more traditional English plants, and an impressive walled garden. Visit like I did, late in the afternoon, and you might even be lucky enough to see a rainbow over Mounts Bay and beyond!

Particularly impressive in the autumn is the walled garden

The fabulous walled garden is divided into five main areas, and boasts impressive magnolias in early spring; tempting fruit and vegetable displays during growing season; and dazzling autumn hues at this time of year in the form of multi-coloured pumpkins and late-flowering perennials. Combine this with the subtle autumn light and you'll have a veritable feast for your eyes and memories to record forever with your camera.

Pumpkin feast in October at Trengwainton

In the 19th century Trengwainton was home to a former Jamaican sugar-plantation owner, who planted trees here to protect the land from the ocean storms. But later it was acquired by the Bolitho family, and when Sir Edward inherited the property in 1925, the garden underwent a huge transformation. He sponsored one of the many fashionable plant-hunting expeditions of the early 20th century - a young man called Frank Kingdon-Ward, who went to Assam and Burma in the late 1920s.

There's plenty of colour in the walled garden in October

Bolitho's reward was many of the exotic species that survive at Trengwainton today and during his 35-year reign at the property he also had the foresight to realise that the unique south-east facing position of the garden lent itself to cultivating species from around the UK too. Today the garden is home to a fantastic collection of ferns, palms, rhododendrons, magnolias and azaleas, which guarantee year-round interest for the visitor.

Funky frogman is just one of many scarecrows in the walled garden

In 1961, Bolitho gave much of the land to the National Trust, and although his descendants remain in the big house, the NT uses this site to test new plant species for hardiness. The result is an interesting collection, and unlike so many other gardens in Cornwall, that remain heavily dependent on the main tourist season, Trengwainton stays open throughout the year. Part of the charm of the property is the focus on exotic scarecrows throughout the walled gardens, like the funky frogman above!

If you get this far down in Cornwall, you might even consider a trip to the Scilly Isles where the garden at Tresco Abbey awaits you. I didn't make it because the weather turned bad, but I did get to visit another of my favourite English gardens - Tremenheere Sculpture Garden - which has equally spectacular views over Mounts Bay and St Michael's Mount.

Galloping Gardener Walks © - Autumn delights in Devon

The Garden House, Devon

There's no getting away from shorter days as we enter October, but what better place to be than Devon now that the children are back at school and the gardens there are a blaze of autumn colour? Today, I'm featuring three very different gardens that will really give you a taste of Devon at its best - all are open until the end of October, and even if you can only get to see one of them, you won't be disappointed!

There is still plenty in bloom at The Garden House in October

Start at The Garden House - one of my favourite gardens anywhere in England - with its wonderful acer displays at this time of year, but just as impressive at any other time during the open season - this must be one of the most romantic and mystical gardens I've seen yet.  The terrain is hilly and there are a series of garden rooms, constantly changing and evolving, but the whole garden comes together and creates an impression of absolute serenity.  

The acers are coming into full colour now at The Garden House

Move on to Marwood Hill near Barnstaple for a very different experience with its rolling landscape, subtle colours and glorious vistas over the lakes. This garden was created by a doctor, who developed a passion for plants and trees and is filled with rare and unusual species. There are more than 5,000 different plants here and it is also home to the National Collection of astilbes. You'll also find a large collection of eucalyptus trees. 

There are many champion trees at Marwood Hill

A large part of Marwood' s charm is that it feels like a family garden, even though it boasts a fine selection of champion trees. And if you've got this far, a visit to nearby Docton Mill is a must - a nine-acre garden with a water mill that dates back to Saxon times. This garden has had new life breathed into it by its current owners, and also boasts one of the finest cream teas in the county!

Marwood is home to several National Collections, including iris and astilbe

Docton Mill is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty and as you approach it, you get fine views over the Bristol Channel and see Lundy Island on the horizon - home to one of the largest puffin communities in the UK. The mill stream creates a perfect haven for damp-loving plants and there are also many fine trees here.

The mill at Docton dates back to Saxon times

All three of these gardens are magical in their own way, but are just a taster for some of the other Devon gardens that remain open until the end of the month. But part of the joy of visiting this county is the rolling countryside and the fine sea views - both north and south. Other gardens worth visiting are Coleton Fishacre, Killerton, Castle Drogo and RHS Rosemoor.