Garden of the Season – Logie House

October 28th 2020

Autumn is one of the best times of year at Logie and it never seems to let us down.  The contrasts amongst the rich reds, purples, orangey reds, yellows and greens all emphasise each other; and then there are the blue Aconitums and the decaying Hostas and Hemerocallis that just give another dimension.  It is all so fleeting, and changes every day.  Then the winds come and blow the leaves off and make a tapestry carpet on the ground – more transient beauty which it seems sad to disturb.  Perhaps that is why we all love this time of the year so much: each day of joy is different and a bonus.  If you are lucky you can catch a waft of the delicious burnt sugar smell from the Cercidiphyllum; it is impossible to be sure where you are going to smell it …. it is there and then it is gone!

As always the yellow colours of the birches, horse chestnuts, limes and many others will perform without fail.  The perfect conditions for the good autumn reds are cold, but not freezing, nights, and bright sunny days.  We are fortunate in Moray in that the East Coast autumn weather often gives us days and sometimes a few weeks of exactly this sort of weather.  This allows the sugars in the leaves to become more concentrated leading to more production of the pigment, anthocyanin … and the glorious autumn colours can really perform.

 

The borrowed landscape of the oaks and beeches along the River Findhorn give yet another dimension and the perfect backdrop to the garden at Logie at this time of the year.  A great boost before the onset of winter.