Hanbury's garden in autumn

From mid-September onwards, we expect to see the first signs of autumn throughout the gardens. The trees begin to show hints of seasonal colour and continue to change right through until late November, so there is always a different, colourful landscape to be seen. The Lime, Oak and Elm trees that make up the avenues are awash with vibrant colour and look particularly impressive from the Stableyard.

Autumn is the ideal time to explore Hanbury’s gardens, jump in crunchy leaves, discover shiny conkers from our magnificent Horse Chestnut tree and enjoy the invigorating fresh air with all the family.

What are our gardeners up to?

Throughout the autumn, our gardeners are kept busy...

• Around 4,800 bulbs will be planted in the Ribbon Border around the Parterre during October. Hyacinths, tulips and daffodils will be placed precisely in the ground, in preparation for a stunning display of colour next spring.
• As the temperature starts to fall, around mid-September our tender greens, including the exotic and citrus collection will need to be brought inside. They will spend the winter in the warmer climate of the Orangery.
• After a busy summer our bowling green will close at the end of September. Our gardeners will then be able to get to work mowing and reseeding the surface before leaving it alone over the winter to allow the surface chance to recover before the green reopens again in the spring.

Walled Garden

Enjoy a little seclusion among the flowers, fruits and vegetables of the peaceful Walled Garden. The Vernon family would have used the seasonal produce grown here to supply their kitchen and we continue this tradition by using the fruits and vegetables in our tearoom.

Spread over one and a half acres, our productive Walled Garden is certified organic by the Soil Association. The autumn months are some of the most productive here with a bountiful harvest of pumpkins, squashes, leeks, cabbages, celeriac and swede. Top of our gardener’s to do list in the autumn, is to harvest this produce for use in our tearooms and for sale at the produce stall in the garden for you to enjoy at home.

Over in the tearoom, delicious warming soups are made with Hanbury grown squashes, pumpkins and parsnips. Apples from the orchard are used in our freshly baked cakes and crumbles. Even the eggs are fresh from the chickens which live down in the Walled Garden too.

Our Walled Garden has also been home to our chickens since 2010. We currently have Bantams, Pekin and Dutch Gold as well as White Leghorn chickens but we’re expecting some new arrivals this autumn with four Cheshire Blues on the way – so keep an eye out for their arrival! We usually feed our chickens between 1.30-2pm each day, so stop by and say hello.

You’ll also find our bee hives in the garden too which are looked after and cared for by our volunteer beekeeper, Tim.

Walled Orchard and Formal Fruit Garden

The walled orchard and the formal fruit garden contain 56 traditional English fruit varieties, including the Golden Pippin, Howgate Wonder and the traditional Bramley. Harvesting begins in the early autumn, usually across the last two weeks of September, ready for the big Apple Fest celebration at the beginning of October. All of the apples are picked by hand by our dedicated team of gardeners and volunteers. Be sure to stop and take a look at the trees heavy and leaden with fruit before the harvest begins!

Autumn Highlights

• Challenge friends to a game of conkers foraged from our magnificent horse chestnut tree.
• Visit the Orchard and see the branches of our apple trees heavy with ripened fruit.
• Keep your eyes peeled for the first signs of migrating birds in the garden. Especially Fieldfares and Redwings which are attracted by the windfall apples in the orchard.

Find out more...

Most days you'll find our gardening team hard at work, whatever the weather. They'll be happy to tell you more about the gardens and share a few of their tips, or you can just take a seat and enjoy the results of all their hard work.

Garden Tours

Look out for guided walks with our knowledgeable garden volunteers, where you will learn more about the history of the garden and wider park, the plants that make the garden so unique, as well as gardening hints and tips.

All of our garden tours are run by our fantastic volunteer team and as such may not be available every day. Please check at Visitor Reception when you arrive or find one of our blackboards around the gardens.