Last Saturday the weather was absolutely wonderful, bright blue sky and lovely sunshine, so we made the most of it and went to The Garden House , Buckland Monachorum on Dartmoor, just 10 miles from Plymouth. The sun was surprisingly hot for the end of October, so coats weren’t needed nor umbrellas as there wasn’t a cloud in the sky! We usually try to get to see a garden which is known for its autumn tints and I knew this garden had an Acer glade, say no more!
The car park at The Garden House.
Acers and Betula.
We soon saw some tempting colours of Acers through the grove of Betula Ermanii, lovely trunks just waiting to be stroked.
Betula ermanii.
Stone circle.
We have so many ancient stone circles in this country which go back thousands of years, but this is a stone circle made out of concrete gate posts which are found on all farms round here!
Colours getting better.
While driving across Dartmoor to get to the garden, we noticed that the trees were all bare, they are high up and get all the wind coming from the south and west. The garden though is in a little valley so is protected.
No labels to tell me which Acer this is.
A view of Buckland Monachorum church from the garden.
More Acers.
Is this Honey fungus?
The tree had been felled and left in place, but it looks like honey fungus to me, which isn’t good for the garden.
The leaves are dropping……..
……but they make a wonderful carpet to walk on.
Looking back up the little valley with it’s tumbling stream.
The little bridge at the end is part of a public footpath, so walkers can get a free viewing as they pass through the end of the garden!
A carved owl in a niche in the wall of the walled garden.
Penstemon.
Like most large gardens, this garden is divided into different areas. Perennials outside the walled garden were looking as though a frost had got to them, they were black, but inside the walled garden, which must be protected from the worst of the weather, the perennials were still flowering away.
Nerine, darker than bowdenii.
Verbena and dahlias.
Anemone, maybe Wild Swan.
Rhododendron flower buds.
There are quite a lot of Rhododendrons and they were all covered with thousands of flower buds, they will look fantastic next spring.
Looking beautiful in the sunlight.
New Arboretum.
The new Arboretum was opened by the Countess of Wessex to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The trees are only small at the moment, but I’m sure it will be a wonderful place to visit when they are a bit taller, with lots more leaves to change colour in the autumn.
Car park still looking beautiful in the sunshine.
This Acer was looking as though it was lit from within when we eventually got back to the car park after having a wonderful time exploring the garden.
We had a super time visiting The Garden House, it is a garden for all four seasons so I hope to be making more visits in the not too distant future!
Marvellous. I’ve been once, in late Spring. It’s well worth a trip in autumn by the look of it, just to see the acers. The combination with the Betula is lovely.
I must go in Spring time Jessica, to see all the Spring bulbs that have been planted in the area going up to the Acers. I loved the silver birches , they were so beautiful. The soil under the birches was roped off, as in September they have masses of Fly Agaric toadstools there, the ones with red tops and white spots, that must look magical!
I was there in July, all the poppies are flowering! I remember this Betula, have also a picture from it. I love Gardenhouse, in early spring the grasses are beautiful!
Thanks for the wonderful pictures.
Sigrun
How amazing that you were here earlier in the year Sigrun! I know they have masses of bulbs flowering in the spring and meadow flowers in the summer, I must remember to go back then. Glad you enjoyed your visit.
Such lovely gardens and fabulous vistas. Living on the west coast of the US, I miss seeing structures that are many centuries old. Over here, you can usually count their age in decades.
We are so lucky Anna, in having so many wonderful old houses and gardens to visit, I don’t think you could visit them all in a lifetime! We really enjoyed our visit and know from reading about it that it is worth a visit at other times of the year.
This looks like a lovely garden, what a treat to see a garden so full of Aces st this time of year. Nothing beats them, in my opinion, for fall color. I miss the sugar maples that grow in New England, where we used to live. Here on the other side of the USA we have lots and lots of evergreens, which are nice, but don’t turn in the fall, of course.
I agree Alison, Acers are so wonderful giving us colour at this time of year. We usually go to an arboretum which has lots of Acers, but it is rather a long way from us, this garden was much nearer and even though it was much smaller, we enjoyed it just as much.
What a lovely place to visit. I do love acers, sadly the leaves have long since fallen off mine. What a lovely owl and stone circle. Glad the weather was so good for you.xxx
My Acers in the garden Dina, still haven’t achieved their final colour yet, a few more days should do it. The weather is still rather warm for November! Since Saturday it has rained each day, we were so lucky to have such a good day on Dartmoor.
Lovely autumn colour there Pauline… we are quite a bit ahead of you with many leaves carpeting the ground now. Love that view with the little bridge. 🙂
We have had it so warm for the last few weeks Cathy, I think that’s why the leaves are still mainly on the trees here. It must be lovely walking the public footpath and find that you are walking through part of the garden, a bonus on your walk!
Spectacular fall photo series; it is hard to not love this time of year when the world turns such amazing colors.
Thanks Charlie, this year the colours have been better than ever, probably because it is still so warm, 16C yesterday!
Looks like you had perfect autumn weather for your visit. I love how that low light makes all the foliage glow.
My favorite is the birches though. What a clump!
The weather couldn’t have been better Frank, lovely hot sunshine and not a cloud in the bright blue sky! The light made taking photos a bit difficult though, the contrast with the shadows was so great, quite a few weren’t worth using, but I’m not complaining. The birches were superb, such a lovely grouping of them, I think they had planted 5 single stems and then coppiced them to get so many trunks.
I love all the brilliant fall color, the birches and maples, plus that owl in the walled garden. Quite a perfect final garden visit for the season.
Glad you like them Jason, they made a very colourful end to the year and a wonderful garden to finish on. It will soon be snowdrop time, so February will see us garden visiting again!