Autumn Special at Savill Garden

We were delighted when unexpected sunshine forced its way through the clouds to give a glow to the surrounding autumn colours. We were walking in the south eastern corner of Windsor Great Park where a wide range of trees, shrubs and flowering plants form an ever-changing landscape. We came alongside the green swathe that is Smith’s Lawn, celebrating its 50th year as home to The Guard’s Polo Club. The only horses we saw were made of bronze, plus a fabulous topiary horse and rider. Nearby we entered the Heather Garden which holds the British National Collection of Heathers. Excellent subject for year round interest, we enjoyed either the swathes of colourful flowers, or the striking foliage of many shapes, colours and textures. Here is also held the National Collection of slow growing conifers. 2,000 different forms infect, each adding great interest with their variety of shapes and colours, from warm golden yellows to cool steely blue. Taller trees give a framework to the whole area, planted to give further interest like the exotic birches with their amazing bark, and the sorbus with small pearly berries dangling amongst apricot foliage. We were now walking within 'The Valley Gardens' where the diversity of trees leads to spectacular autumn colour with russets, purples, reds, oranges and yellows, while green is provided by the structural evergreen trees and rhododendron bushes. Fungi in marvellous shades add their contribution to the colourful scene. We took our break at Plunket Memorial, a neoclassical building commemorating Lord Plunket, Deputy Master of the Queen's household. From here we gained a lovely view down to the shimmering surface of Virginia Water. Some of us made use of the seats and steps to relax, while others squirreled away, collecting sweet chestnuts which lay in profusion at our feet. We were alongside the famous 'Punchbowl', probably The Valley Gardens' most well-known springtime feature when it is ablaze with colour from azaleas and rhododendrons. Even on this autumn day

some of the rhododendrons were flowering (we were told later that there is a rhododendron to provide flowers 52 weeks of the year). We walked down to the lakeside, created in 1753 when it was the largest man- made body of water in the British Isles. Our path gave us fleeting glimpses of this impressive lake as we made our way along sweeping valleys planted with majestic trees. Eventually, at the eastern end of Virginia Water, we reached the Totem Pole. Looming 100 feet in the air, it is carved from a single log of 600year old Western Red Cedar, cut from a forest near Vancouver. We attempted to find the ten parts, each carved to represent a different tribe, starting at the top with ' a man with large hat' down to 'cedar man', with creatures such as a whale and a two-headed snake in between! The final part of our walk took us up beside the Obelisk Pond, its autumnal reflections rippled only by a few ducks and a fisherman's float. We headed for the Obelisk rising up behind the pond, and here we found benches on which to picnic. After lunch began the second part of our special day. We entered The Savill Garden where we were met by our Garden Guides who took us, in three groups, around this stunning garden. Acclaimed to be one of the finest gardens in England, it holds nine National Collections of plants! Some fine trees were already in place when, in 1932, Sir Eric Savill began turning an area of wilderness into a garden of beauty and interest. These trees now form the structural bones of the garden. We were told to look at three levels of interest - the top level having mature trees such as old oaks and newer cherries, maples and magnolias. In the next level are the shrubs with rhododendrons, camellias, witchhazels and hydrangeas. The herbaceous plants, ferns, hostas, and bulbous plants such as the

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