Visit the gardens at Dyffryn

Top garden features during autumn

Dyffryn Gardens is simply spectacular in autumn. After the lush abundance of the summer, the Arboretum transitions into a rich rainbow of warming colours. The acers look their best at this time of year, showing off their reddish gold hues. Follow your nose and discover the scent of toffee apples from the Katsura trees as their leaves fall and start to decay.

Throughout the turn and shift of the seasons the Garden Rooms remain full of texture and colour and from late summer until the first frost you can still see our spectacular Dahlias and Ginger Lilies in the Exotics Garden.

There is also a unique and magical gourd display in the Glass House, which is a must-see on an autumnal visit to Dyffryn.

Waxcaps start popping-up in the damp but warmer weather of the autumn months. We have regular waxcap surveys and some beautiful examples of rare and colourful waxcaps all throughout the gardens. It's well worth coming to Dyffryn on a waxcap hunt.

We have lots of migratory birds stopping off at Dyffryn in the autumn to stock-up on nutrients on their way to warmer climates for the winter - there are Mistle Thrushes, Fieldfares and the occasional Waxwing. We also grow late forage plants as nectar sources for Queen Bees so they too can stock-up on nutrients ahead of their hibernation period.

This autumn we’re making Dyffryn Gardens even more spectacular than usual with our specially curated celebration of autumn, Fall into Autumn.

Fall into Autumn

Fall into autumn is a series of events and installations specially designed to help you celebrate this beautiful season.

There'll be gourd and dried flower displays, bespoke sculptures dotted throughout the gardens, a return of last year's sensory reflection trial, a brand-new audio tour of the gardens and arboretum (recorded by Dyffryn's Head Gardener and Head Arborist), a self-led autumnal walk, indoor decorations, autumn-themed creative kits and October half term event, Do You Dare. All these celebrations are free (normal admission also applies – entry is free to National Trust members).

Fall into Autumn starts on 26 September and runs through to 16 November. Some of the events are free and some are ticketed. Find out more about these events in the upcoming events section.

Garden tours

Join an Arboretum tour with arborist Rory Ambrose and take in the highlights of the season. He'll take you around the Arboretum during its showstopper season. Discover how we care for this special collection of trees and meet some of Rory’s favourite trees along the way. This is a "pay what you feel" event, our suggested donation is £5.

Dates:

Friday 24 October, 11am–12.30pm

Tuesday 4 November, 11am-12.30pm

Book your spot here.

Autumn walks

Every season we have a free self-guided walk which showcases seasonal beauty spots at Dyffryn Gardens. Pick-up your Autumn Walk map from the Welcome Centre when you arrive, it will take you round the gardens highlighting which areas look best during this lovely time of year.

As autumn progresses, what you’ll see on your walk will change depending on how the weather has been and when in the season you come - keep your trail leaflet and return throughout autumn to see how the gardens change as the year wends its way to a close.

The small plant labels which indicate you've reached a spot marked on the map will give information about the plant collection at Dyffryn Gardens. This year's Autumn Walk will be like strolling round an outdoor museum, with a beautiful living collection, marked for your notice with the species name and facts about why each plant is of special note.

While you're on your stroll you'll also see beautiful viewpoint structures and sculptures, specially designed to help you see the garden in new ways. These are part of the Dyffryn Gardens autumn celebration, Fall into Autumn.

Another aspect of this autumnal celebration is the Sensory Reflection Trail. This free and unique meditation helps you engage with nature and use all your senses to ground yourself in the season. You’ll be given an mp3 player and headphones to listen to a specially written and recorded walking meditation which will take you round four stations in the gardens where you'll be guided through exploring the nature around you through vision, hearing, touch and smell. Finish with a notecard meditation to use either in the café after your walk or with the picnic/drink/snack you've brought with you, bringing the sense of taste into the sensory experience.

Find out more about the Autumn Walk here, the Sensory Reflection Trail here and Fall into Autumn here.

Talks and Tours

Find out more about these fascinating gardens on free, volunteer-run talks and tours on certain days of the week.

Talks

These 15-minute-long introductory talks give you a quick overview of the history of the Cory family, the estate, the gardens, and how we’re looking after this special place. They take place on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11.30am, 12pm, 1pm, 1.30pm and 2pm.

Find out more here.

Tours

These 45-minute-long tours take in seven key locations around the house and gardens. Accessible routes are available so please ask at the start of the tour and our volunteer guides will adapt the tour as needed. They take place on Saturdays at 11.30am and 1pm.

Find out more here.

Please note talks and tours are volunteer dependent, and visitors need to check they are running with the Welcome Team on the day. There’s no need to book.