So here we are with the ninth post in my series about Croft Castle gardens throughout the year, where I shall report on our September visit to this Herefordshire National Trust property.
The long border was sparkling with colour in the sunlight. The sun was beginning to sit lower in the sky so whites looked as wonderful as bright colours. Cyclamen shone jewel-like in the shadow of the ancient trees. Grasses glistened!
Once inside the walled garden we immediately noticed how large areas of colour were absent but plant partnerships in twos and threes gave brightness throughout.
Sweetpeas are always a delight but to see these beauties this late in the season really pleased the eye. And of course the nose!
This rich blue colour surprised us when we had a close and realised these gems were not flowers at all but berries. This grass like plant with the blue berries is a Dianella, a plant we have been trying to get established on our gravel garden for a few seasons now. Seeing how special they can be made us more determined to get it right.
Fuschias are not a favourite of our’s but within these walls we enjoyed the simple small flowers of the more natural varieties.
The diminuitive flowers of this Fuschia had blooms less than a centimetre long but its beauty was in the detail.
I love rich deep colours in the garden but they seem especially intense in the early autumn months, so I was attracted by these Dahlias and our favourite Verbena bonariensis.
In the entrance to the glasshouses the climbing Cobaea was in full bloom and the plant covered a huge area. Close-up we could appreciate its complexity and incredible beauty. The tomatoes growing in the glasshouse were looking as late to develop as our own, but their Chrysanths were already in flower whereas ours are just budding up.
The Secret Garden sparkled in the sunshine with every leaf and petal catching the light.
For bright cheerfulness in the autumn garden you can’t beat the Rudbeckias.
As we made our way back to the car after our most enjoyable garden wanderings two signs of autumn caught our eye, the deep pink of the Sedum flower heads and the colour appearing on the clump of mature trees close to the main gate out of the garden. Next visit will be sometime in October when we expect to see autumn taking over the borders and clumps of trees.
