I’ve wanted to go to Westonbirt for years and never seem to have managed to arrange a visit. But last week I had a friend staying and because I’m now reasonably close, we decided to pay a visit.
In terms of autumn colour, we’d missed the most spectacular weeks, but it was still impressive and beautiful at one of my favourite times of year.
The day was dull but luckily dry so I was able to take some pictures of the vibrant colours even though I really needed my tripod with me!
This year yellow seems to have been the dominant colour near us, but that may be something to do with the face that there is quite a lot of larch. The larch wood at Westonbirt was just as impressive especially contrasted with the bright green grass beneath – I think the warm wet weather has brought on a spring-like vibrancy in the grassy fields around us.
And some of the Acers were still shining out despite many having already dropped their leaves.
But one of the most spectacular spectacles was the Sea Buckthorn (Hippophaes rhamnoides) with its orange berries and silvery foliage.
The red cornus stems were also looking great – such a great plant for winter interest…
And this is Lime Avenue which I’d love to see in the summer when the trees are in leaf…
I’ve always loved trees and often feel the urge to look up into the canopy. Here are a few shots of the tall pines and also looking up into the canopy of a Plane Tree with its glowing leaves…
And I’ll leave you with a couple of close up images I took of interesting moss and bark.
Westonbirt is open all year round (except Christmas Day). They have one of the finest collections of trees in the world and they’re currently building a roof-top walkway, similar to the one at Kew. Over the coming weeks they light the forest for their Enchanted Christmas festival.
You can find more details on the Westonbirt Arboretum website.
(Images: Lisa Cox)
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