Autumn flowers at Chatsworth

By October in most gardens flowers are starting to look a bit drab. A few Michaelmas daisies straggle on and dahlias give an exotic burst of colour. 

At Chatsworth though there's always colour to be found - from this mass bed of rudbeckias in the cutting garden to stately acidanthera and frothy cosmos.

These fluffy, feathery flowers remain a mystery, so if you can identify them please tell me.

 

Autumnal Acers at Chatsworth

Early each autumn I head to Chatsworth to see the acers as they change colour.

For just a few weeks, perhaps less if strong winds blow the leaves off, they turn the most gorgeous, brilliant shades of orange, red and purple.

This group in particular is somewhat hidden, beside a small stream in one of the higher parts of the garden, away from the main attractions of the Emperor Fountain and Cascade, but well worth looking for.

No red leaves here, but the seedpods are fantastic!

 I wish there'd been a seat nearby, I'd have stayed all day just watching the leaves blow in the breeze.

Staunton Harold Reservoir

Staunton Harold reservoir isn't far from Calke Abbey - in fact it can be seen from the certain points of Calke's grounds, and isn't a very long walk away. It's owned by Severn-Trent water but the National Trust have recently taken over running the visitor facilities there, and, being in the area, I thought we'd check it out. 

There isn't really a lot to do at the visitor centre. There's a cafe (closed as we visited early evening) and a kiddies' playpark, but that's about it. There's a sailing club, but members only. An old windmill to look at. And that's about it. You can walk more or less beside the reservoir to Calke, (under 2 miles) which we've done on a previous occasion, but we'd just come from Calke. A lot of the walks mentioned on the NT site actually start from elsewhere. 

This evening we walked along a nature trail (a good tarmacked road, part of the route to Calke) but although the views of the reservoir are quite nice, it's not really very interesting. Perhaps in Spring or Summer, with wild flowers coming into bloom, it's better, but I won't be hurrying back.

A good sunset rounded the day off nicely; captured from the car window as we crossed the causeway at Swarkestone.

 

Autumn at Calke

 Visiting Biddulph the other weekend reminded me of the gorgeous display of dahlias that can also be found at Calke Abbey - so off we went to see them.

It's taken me a long while to learn to appreciate dahlias, but now I'm delighted by their many colours and shapes. Unfortunately I can't seem to grow them, due to damage from slugs and snails, so I have to admire those grown elsewhere.

There are other signs of autumn being well on its way -  a wonderful display of pumpkins and gourds grown in the kitchen garden, and now displayed in the auricula theatre,  the vegetable beds now dominated by winter brassicas - cabbage, kale and brussels sprouts

 and fruit hanging heavy on the orchard trees - not just apples and pears, but unusual types such as quinces and medlars too

 

Biddulph Grange Gardens

It's a long while since I've been to Biddulph Grange gardens. They aren't far away (just over an hour) but in a direction we don't think of travelling when thinking of a day out; maybe it's the thought of rush-hour traffic in Stoke that's off-putting. Anyway, younger daughter was home recently and as Biddulph lies roughly half way on her journey home we decided to all go there, and break her journey before she carried onward and we returned home.

It's an amazing place - a fantasy garden with follies, grottoes, tunnels, a mock Chinese temple, an Egyptian tomb, a stumpery, and long borders of colourful dahlias; all packed into a comparatively small area. An entrancing place for adults and children alike

 

A new bit of Chatsworth

If you've ever read this blog, you'll know I go to Chatsworth a LOT, (we have an annual membership which makes this possible), but it's mainly to visit the gardens as they change throughout the year; we don't go for longer walks through the surrounding parkland.

So our recent trip to see the Radical Horizons sculptures, heading north from the house towards Baslow, took us somewhere new. We have been here before once, but during the Horse Trials when the landscape is somewhat hidden by jumps, ropes marking the course, and in the flatter areas marquees and the show-jumping ring - and of course the horses and riders are what you've come to see, not the surroundings.

So this beautiful pond was totally unexpected. Practical as well as pretty it was once used to provide ice for the ice house.  

We followed an estate track for a while, with this section giving panoramic views to the north, before turning in a wide arc, and heading down to the river Derwent and walking along its banks to the front of the House.

It was an interesting walk, a slight bit of uphill walking but not strenuous, and giving a new perspective on a place we frequently visit. One to revisit when the gardens are busy.