A Walk in the gardens August 2007

It had been a really murky misty morning but about 3.30 in the afternoon it cleared up and the sun shone for a while. I thought it was a good time for my walk.
I don’t know how some people can say there is nothing much to see in the gardens just now. They must go around with their eyes shut! I was half way up the drive when I tried to take a photo of Olearia aviceniifolia. I discovered that the batteries in my camera needed charging and so did the spare ones! However I managed to go back the following day with fully charged batteries so I might include a picture or two!
What struck me first was that the leaves are already beginning to turn colour. Half way up the drive is Parrotia persica with very red leaves. The evergreen Azaleas and Cercidiphyllum japonicum are also turning. Add to that the orange of the Kniphofias and there is a definite autumn feel. And we are not even out of August yet!
Also on the drive was a Eucryphia glutinosa. There was a slight breeze and the petals were falling round the tree like confetti. In the walled garden there were some more Eucryphia – cordifolia in the south walled garden and more glutinosa and intermedia Rostrevor in the north part.
I found a newly planted border in the north walled garden at the back of the wall that divides the garden. I knew some planting had been going on because Micky had mentioned it but I had assumed he meant the main herbaceous borders as you enter the walled garden. This particular border at one time had Globe Artichokes and Rhubarb in it. Now it has all sorts of plants in it many of them not fully hardy. These include Pelargoniums species, Osteospermums, Crassulas, sedums, purple Aeonium, Agaves. One plant that had a label was Anigozanthus manglesii, the kangaroo paw. I look forward to seeing this one flower as I have never come across it before. The border has been “landscaped” so that its surface is not flat. There are 2 or 3 little hills in it. These plants will all be labelled soon.
The hydrangeas are spectacular this year! There are so many different types. Hydrangea aspera subsp .aspera is fully out now and looks magnificent. The lacecaps are proving very popular with the visitors with many people wanting to buy plants of them. The Hydrangeas grow all through the gardens. In the walled garden there is a dark blue hortensia type with brilliant orange Crocosmia Jackanapes growing in front of it. The colour combination is stunning!
There is evidence of autumn colour here too with some of the Hydrangea leaves turning and also Abeliophyllum distichum.
Down in the pond garden the horse chestnuts are turning orange and yellow and the colour is echoed in the day lilies growing round the pond. There are also quite a lot of leaves already lying on the ground, mainly Sycamore.

I’ve decided to include two photos. The first is of the Parrotia. In the background you can see on the left hand side a Cercidiphyllum and on the right side the Olearia though it isn’t very clear.
The second photo is of Hedychium forestii which is in the walled garden