Tales from the Garden – Autumn Colour at Redcroft
It has been a lovely autumn. As I write the garden is lit up by the sun and the whole place seems to be golden with leaves all over the ground as well as still on the trees. There has been a very good crop of apples too. We are now thinking of our opening next year. We will have a one day opening in early May when the rhododendrons and tulips should be at their best, and then we are going to open by appointment at other times in spring and autumn.
This photo of the rockery, which is close to the huge horse chestnut tree, was taken on 2nd October . You can see how the leaves go everywhere. But the red acers, at all times one of the features of the garden, hang on to their leaves which become almost luminous and contrast well with the cloud pruned conifer.
This Nerine sarniensis is not hardy but I have two pots of it. They start to flower around September, and like the more often seen Nerine Bowdenii, are very long lasting and consistent. I bought the bulbs many years go when I went to the wonderful arboretum at Kalmthout in Belgium where there was a good plant shop. Anna Pavord in her book ‘Bulb’ says do not be in a hurry to pot them on, only do it once in every five years. No doubt good advice but I did pot them on a couple of years ago and did several pots of the extras and have had very good reports from those who acquired them.
October 1st was change over day. The white argyranthemums, which have done good service, are stood down from duty either side of the porch and replaced by the yellow chrysanths from Dobbies.
The herbaceous border has suffered from the heat and drought we had in the summer and phlox particularly were very disappointing. These asters and sedums are providing some compensation.
Callicarpa bodinieri is not exactly an inspiring shrub, it never makes a good solid shape and it seemed to be almost dead earlier on, so we pruned it quite heavily. Now we are rewarded by a good crop of these purple berries the size of which is perhaps rather exaggerated in the close-up photo where they are seen against the grey of Melianthus.
We have three clumps of Melianthus major and they were all frosted last winter. They grow back from the base and have got better and better since the summer. Here they are contrasted with the balls of Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’ under the kitchen window.
Arbutus unedo, better known as the strawberry tree as its fruits do look like strawberries, has surprised me by producing these flowers now which rather resemble pieris flowers. It has only been in this position for two years but is doing well.
There is much else going on in the garden. The pink daisies in pots are still flowering well, so are the orange begonias in the yard and there are beautiful berries on cotoneasters and sorbuses as well as apple trees still laden with fruit. All this, added to the colourful leaves, make it one of the best times of the year for this garden. Soon fear of damaging frost will mean that we have to get any plants which are not hardy into the greenhouse.
Anna Buxton 24th October 2025
