November at Dunham Massey

As anyone who follows my twitter account @renaissancegd will know, I am a frequent visitor to the National Trust gardens at Dunham Massey. Earlier this week, after a light overnight frost I decided to take the opportunity for a wander with the camera hoping catch the last of the autumn colour and a frosty sparkle or two.

Preparations were in place for the festive lights trail which has become a regular feature over the last three years. The lights had already been installed on the lawn but it was the foliage of the magnificent Liriodendron tulipifera tree that caught my eye.

The colours were absolutely stunning and definitely worth a close up shot.

In contrast, the acers were looking quite bare, so I’m sneaking in this older shot from a couple of weeks ago to show you them at their best. There are a number of varieties of acer planted in the winter garden, including Acer griseum with beautiful peeling bark, but it’s the red foliage of the Acer palmatum that provides this glorious spectacle every Autumn.

The rose garden is a wonderful place to visit in summer, but it’s always worth a look in other seasons too. I was hoping for a little frost on the petals but sadly the sun had melted the last of this on the day I was there. This rose (Rosa ‘Dunham Massey’ I think) was still looking rather pretty though!

The foliage on this deciduous Berberis turns a vivid orange in November.

In the heart of the winter garden, the leaves of the beech trees were carpeting the ground. Not so long ago it had been a mass of pink Cyclamen hederifolium.

The beech trees that were still holding on to their leaves really stood out in the morning sun.

The flowers of the Mahonia were just starting to open and will be an excellent source of nectar for any brave late season pollinators.

And the colours of the berries on this Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii ‘Profusion’ were almost unreal.

I did manage to find a little frost remaining in the shady areas. I quite like this black grass with the almost unpronounceable name of Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’.

Even the fallen leaves look so much more attractive with a little magic sparkle.

And talking of sparkle, I couldn’t fail to notice the larger than life sparkly reindeers. Even in daylight they look very impressive!

The after-dark illuminated trail runs from 22nd November until 30th December and the gardens are worth a visit at any time of year.