ENGLISH HERITAGE GARDENS IN AUTUMN
As the weather cools, our gardens transition into a vibrant autumnal colour palette of yellow, orange and brown. Keep cosy and enjoy wandering through our historic gardens where you'll discover the stories behind our leafy woodlands, decorative flower beds and seasonal kitchen produce.
Here's our pick of the most impressive gardens of the season.
1. Audley End
Pull on your jacket and pack your umbrella and witness the seasonal changes at Audley End, one of our most beautiful gardens. See ripening apples in the Kitchen Gardens, stately cedars in the parkland and catch the last of the display of flowers across the estate.
Explore the pond garden and parterre which should be alive with colour through the autumn until the first frost beckons the start of the bedding turnover. Near the parterre, look out for the Kentucky coffee trees, the Howard oak (Quercus x audleyensis, one of only two in the world) and the avenue of limes.
Our gardeners are particularly busy in Audley's Kitchen Garden, harvesting apples and pears and several varieties of vegetables including beetroot, lettuce, chard, beans, courgettes and squashes. All plants in this area are cared for in keeping with those grown and used in the house in the 1880s.
Visit Audley End2. Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens
Belsay is looking like an autumnal paradise.
As you walk through the garden, soak up the beautiful seasonal changes including Acer trees, vines, Persian ironwood trees (Parrotia persica) and tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera).
The majestic Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) is always a striking feature because of its magnificent colours and scent of candy floss (yes, really!).
You might even be fortunate enough to spot one of our red squirrels as it prepares for winter. Do let us know if you see one – they can be very elusive.
Visit Belsay Hall3. Brodsworth Hall and Gardens
Brodsworth gardens are for all seasons. However, autumn at Brodsworth is an especially exciting time of year. Through the Beech Lawns you can admire the autumn crocuses that are popping up now that they have had their cut for the year. And as the sun lowers in the sky, its rays gently filter through the Beech trees to highlight the colour of the leaves.
The Fern Dell explodes with autumnal colour as the 44 different shades of green of the deciduous ferns breakdown. Euonymus alatus, also known as 'Burning bush' are dotted around the gardens. They're native to China, Japan and Korea and turn bright red in autumn.
A wander through the Rose Dell is a delight as it comes to life in autumn. Here our gardeners have allowed the shrub roses to form hips which provide food for the birds while adding a pop of bright colour in autumnal shades of bright red and orange.
Visit Brodsworth4. Home of Charles Darwin – Down House
During the autumn look out for the stunning scarlet red Virginia creeper that engulfs Down House, contrasting with the purple tones of the Boston ivy.
The view from the sandwalk (with its veteran beech trees planted by Darwin) across the valley to 'The Big Woods' is also unmissable at this time of year.
The main highlight at Down is the spectacular autumn colour in the valley across from Great Pucklands' Meadow, a place Darwin and his family loved.
Explore the restored greenhouses, where Darwin studied plant growth, pollination and variation. See orchids and carnivorous plants which were two of Darwin's special interests, along with a section devoted to climbing plants and their growth mechanisms.
Visit Down House5. WALMER CASTLE and gardens
The deciduous trees throughout the grounds at Walmer Castle and Gardens offer impressive autumnal colour. The flowering cherries present bright red colours, while the sycamores will turn yellow in beautiful contrast.
Make sure you bring your walking shoes because now is the perfect time for a stroll through the woodland walk, which is already covered in beautiful cyclamen and Colchicum.
In the Victorian glasshouse, you can see a display of large foilage plants as well as a particularly unusual climber, Canarina canariensis. This orange bell-shaped flower is dormant in the summer and only just shooting up again for the autumn and winter.
Meanwhile in The Glen you can enjoy the evergreen ferns and elm trees with their golden hues.
We also clip the yew cloud hedges throughout the season, which is an interesting sight due to its height and the technicalities involved in keeping them trim.
Visit Walmer Castle6. Kenwood
Enjoy Kenwood's beautifully landscaped parkland, with some 6,000 trees. Take a walk and enjoy this annual highlight: a rich, autumnal spectacle.
Our gardeners tend to the rhododendrons and other flowering shrubs in the flower garden in autumn, so you can see the progress over the coming months.
In the kitchen garden, look out for the red leaves of the Vitis coignetiae scrambling along the shed roof and into the Plane Tree. Here you can also admire the firey Acer palmatum trees.
As you walk around the Pasture Ground, look out for the Sweet Gum with vibrant tinges of purples, yellows and oranges in its leaves. Another charming feature is the Virginia creepers that climb elegantly along the front of Mansions Cottage.
Visit Kenwood7. Osborne
Many of the best trees for autumn colour at Osborne can be found to the north of the walled garden.
Near The Swiss Cottage, the small house the royal children played in, see the leaves of the Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) turning orangey-red and the Tulip Tree, (Liriodendron tulipifera), turn a buttery yellow. It's tempting to get out your paint brushes and canvas and paint the picture-perfect views like Victoria did when she stayed at Osborne.
Look out for striking colour among the flowers in the herbaceous borders outside the walled garden and on the outside of the terraces. Asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae and Symphyotrichum novae-belgii), for example, start to flower in late September and carry on until mid-October (or even later if the weather remains mild).
Visit Osborne8. Witley Court
The dramatic ruin of Witley Court is wonderful when complemented by the colours of autumn in the expansive gardens. It was here the Victorians would come to celebrate at one of the famous parties the site became known for.
A favourite view is the early morning vista over the grounds, with looming mist casting a dewy blanket across the lake. This is supported by hues of yellow, orange and bronze in the leaves and berries of Liquidambar, Sorbus, Euonymus and Viburnum.
By October and November, the Woodland walks throw shades of burnt oranges providing a quintessential autumnal experience.
Why not bring your dog along for an autumn stroll and enjoy the fresh air and beautiful surrounds?
Visit Witley Court9. MOUNT GRACE PRIORY, HOUSE AND GARDENS
The gardens at Mount Grace Priory have recently had new planting for the Upper and Lower Terraces and the Dell Garden. Much of these beautiful gardens stayed true to the Arts and Crafts style that was created here in the 1900s.
Now that autumn is here, enjoy the late-flowering perennial plants in the herbaceous borders and the brightly coloured fruit in the orchard. See the red foliage of the Boston ivy creeping up the walls of the front of the house and see the charming palate of yellow and orange as it sweeps through the gardens.
Look out for the extraordinary plants in the reconstructed Monk's Cell. This has been designed based on extensive research into the plants, herbs and vegetables that were popular with monks like mandrake and the aphrodisiac Eryngium maritimum.
Visit Mount Grace Priory
