Autumn at Hidcote

Historically the Red Borders are in full bloom and visitors can hope to see colour across the garden in the late summer perennials and summer bedding with plenty of salvias and grasses, like pampus grass and miscanthus. There will be sweet scents from the heliotropes and grasses catching the light as they move and dance. 

The colours will be mainly warm as light catches; they will change and soften as September progresses. Colours throughout the year that are usually vivid will no longer be washed out by the bright sun. Bronzes, yellows, oranges and reds will glow. Translucent seed heads will add structure and drama will come in the form of leaves changing through the trees and tapestry hedges throughout the garden. 

This is also the time for hedges to receive their annual haircut, as we see the crisp lines and formality returning, as structures and hedges get ‘sharpened’ up.

Minds in the garden will turn to thinking of the year ahead and planning the rebirth of the garden, as we cut back this year’s growth from borders.

Berries will be attracting the sound of birdsong; especially in the wilderness and will fill the air ‘like scent’. Robin’s will follow the garden team through the garden to collect the insects unearthed as a result of clearing the borders. The orchard will be full of the smells of ripened fruit, and the building up of windfall, as birds and insects feast on the apples, purposefully left to rot. The bonfire will smoke and the compost will be brought in, completing the decay cycle and helping the team prepare for the bedding-in of the garden.