Hi fellow Gardens Group members

How Autumn seems to suddenly have arrived! Only a couple of weeks ago we were sweltering and the joy of watering our plants was starting to become a chore. Since then, the familiar rain has returned a plenty! on the positive side, the leaves are turning to wonderful hues and there are lots of berries and fruit to see as the evenings draw in.

But what a great summer it has been. A number of great visits again in the past month. Morton Hall near Stratford on Avon is a splendid privately owned garden that only opens to prearranged tours. We really enjoyed and hope to put it on the programme for the 2026 AOG, given it's promimity to the Warwick University Campus.

We also had a great time at the American Museum and Gardens near Bath, where we were guided by GOC members Kevan and John. Kevan is also a garden volunteer here so we got a really good tour during our visit.

We visited gay owned Cwm Weeg Gardens in mid Wales, as it was open for the National Gardens Scheme. What a place!  It was a very special garden that has been created over that last 34 years. Like all good gardens, it is still a work in progress and evolving. A warm welcome from the owners ensured We really enjoyed our visit there. We’ll be back again in 2026.

Other trips over the past month included Doddington Hall near Lincoln, where they had a sculpture exhibition, the South London Botanical Institute and two gardens in Shropshire, Wollerton Old Hall and Hodnett Hall.

Event reports for some of the past events can be found on the Garden’s Group Page.

Our next event is this Saturday in Pembrokeshire, as part of the All Wales Weekend being held in Milford Haven. It is at Picton Castle and Gardens – described as ‘Pembrokeshire’s finest garden’ and it also has a very interesting Castle to tour around. Free entry to the Gardens and Castle under CADW’s (the Welsh equivalent to English Heritage) ‘Open Doors’ scheme. It also has a great Spanish style café onsite and I find the lawn mower museum fascinating.

Still in Wales, we have a visit to gay owned Hillcrest near Caerphilly on Saturday, 27th of September, preceded by an optional short walk beforehand. The garden regularly opens for the National Garden Scheme (https://ngs.org.uk/gardens/hillcrest-np12/) but this is a special opening for our group.

No garden programme at this time of year can be complete without going to see some Autumn Colour or leaf peeping as they call it across the Altantic. This year, we have a visit to Harcourt Arboretum near Oxford. Come and explore many of the world’s rare and endangered trees set within 130 acres of historic picturesque landscape.

Offers of visits to other places to see some Autun Colour gratefully received!

Once again, a big thank you to those who organise events – you know who you are. Please help us keep the momentum going by organising something – it does not have to be anything elaborate – simply a meet up at a local garden with the option of some refreshment after a stroll around. I am always happy to provide as much support as I can, either with getting it online or anything else that may arise.

In the meantime, happy gardening and garden visiting.

Best wishes

Neil

Gardens Group Co-Ordinator

https://www.goc.org.uk/groups/gardens/