Calke Walled Garden

Another lovely day took me to our second local National Trust property, Calke Abbey. Being late in the day, we hopped on the shuttle buggy which whizzes from the car park, down to the front of the house then back up hill to the gardens and church. 

The garden entrance is hidden behind shrubbery, but through the gateway, covered in bright red Virginia creeper and white wisteria blossoming late in the season, and the gardens open out. It's not cold enough yet for the palms to be covered up for winter and flowers were still blooming in the surrounding beds.

Moving on into the produce garden, the scarecrows were keeping watch over the vegetables and fruit - brilliantly-coloured chard, fat sunbathing pumpkins, apples, pears and medlars .in the orchard, and even some hop vines..

And either side of the central entrance the dahlias were in full bloom. Autumn certainly isn't a time for dying-back and empty garden beds at Calke.

 

Llanerchaeron

Llanerchaeron is a country estate, now owned by the National Trust, lying just a few miles inland from the seaside town of Aberaeron. The house itself isn't a huge stately home but a place you could almost imagine living in. Once the estate was safe sufficient, with vegetables from the walled garden, and crops and livestock produced by the farm. 

You can visit the old farm buildings and discover what life used to be like here but what brings me back time and again is the old walled garden. Its greenhouses may now be crumbling and definitely unsafe, but the ancient apple trees still survive, central beds are filed with vegetables, and the borders with flowers.

On a sunny day it's a wonderful place to just sit for a while.

If you feel like a short walk, there's a path around the lake next to the garden, and for a longer one, explore the woodland beyond the car park - you can follow a series of paths close by or join the cycle path which links Aberaeron and Lampeter.

 

Attingham Park

Although August was over, Attingham Park was still decorated with its Summer of Play finery when we visited; colourful paper lanterns strung along fences, and bunting around the courtyard.

Grandson wasn't along for this trip though so we just headed for the walled garden - also seasonally adorned but with flowers and fruit. Pumpkins grew fat in the vegetable beds, apples, pears, figs and quinces hung in the trees, and autumnal flowers threaded their way between. My last visit was in spring '23 so the garden was very different in appearance.

A walled garden, closed away from the world, always holds a certain magic, and Attingham's is no exception. The sun decided to appear - equally magical on a wet day - and we sauntered about and just sat and contemplated the world.

I had intended to walk further through the parkland but decided against it. Next time I must allow longer for this favourite stopping-off location.

 

Hydrangeas

A couple of weeks ago I headed over to Darley Park to see the hydrangea garden which is looking fabulous this year.

In hot, dry summers hydrangeas can look a little worse for wear, but they've obviously loved the rain we've had this year; the plants look so lush and green, and their flowers exuberant.

There seems to have been a little change in the overall planting scheme since my last visit, now grouping by colour and shape, and giving emphasis to the peniculata varieties.

This comparatively small space, a walled garden tucked away where you might easily miss it, is the home to the National Collection of hydrangeas so every shape and colour is there.

 The sun came out, the day warmed up, and it was a delightful afternoon.