28th October - Golden Leaf Sunday - the Arboretum at it’s colourful best

Autumn is the perfect time to visit the Arboretum near Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds. It will be looking wonderful with the autumn colours coming in early this year with an explosion of reds, golds and yellows and the Maples providing the richest colours.

In September the sugary scented Katsura Tree is one special attraction. The tree is native to Japan and China and a scent is produced by the leaves resembling burnt brown sugar or cotton candy.

Also in September the Mulberry Tree will fruit. The dark red, almost black fruits, are similar to blackberries in appearance but are very juicy with an intense sweet sharp flavour. Shakespeare had a famous Mulberry Tree, of which there are descendants at Kew, and it is said that he had taken it from the Mulberry garden of James I and planted it in his garden at New Place, Stratford-on-Avon, in 1609.

Since 1984 the Arboretum has been run by a charitable trust - The Batsford Foundation -to ensure it’s future and in 2002 it was recognised by the National Council for theConservation of Plants and Gardens (N.C.C.P.G.) as holding the National Plant Collection of Japanese Flowering Cherries (Prunus (sato-sakura group)).

The Estate is the former home of the Mitford girls who all lived at Batsford during the first world war. The oldest, Nancy, based the early part of her novel “Love in a cold climate” on their time at Batsford.

The Estate was sold in 1919 to Gilbert Wills, later the 1st Lord Dulverton and his wife Victoria took a great interest in the garden making many additions to it’s plant stock including the Handkerchief Tree and some fine Copper Beeches.

During the second world war the gardens were neglected and became overgrown until Frederick Wills succeeded his father as 2nd Lord Dulverton in 1956. He had a great passion for trees and proceeded throughout the 1960s to halt the decline. He consolidated the existing collections and added a multitude of other trees to The Estate. He was responsible for raising the status of Batsford to an Arboretum of international standing.

The collection at Batsford now covers a wide range of plants from around the world with an emphasis on the Far East. There are over 3050 labelled specimens including about 1600 different trees, shrubs and bamboo.

Prominent collections include:-

Acer(Maples), Magnolias, Prunus, Bamboo, Sorbus(Mountain Ash and Whitebeams), Quercus(Oak) and Pinus(Pine)

Batsford Arberetum
Batsford Park
Moreton-in-Marsh
Gloucestershire
GL56 9QB

Telephone 01386 701441

www.batsarb.co.uk

Open daily from 10.00 am to 4.45 pm

www.nccpg.com

Tags: gardens | gloucestershire | moreton | places | trees | arboretum | autumn