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West Acre Gardens

@westacregardens

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An old walled garden with extensive display gardens and a sales area packed with choice plants. Tel: 01760 755562, email: [email protected]

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There is a lovely Gingko biloba tree just outside the walled garden, but it arches gracefully over the wall, giving us the benefit of its autumn display of brilliant golden fan shaped leaves.

It is commonly called the Maidenhair Tree and is the only species in the genus. It comes from southeastern China and is very long-lived, some specimens being over 2000 years old.

#gingko #westacregardens #visitnorfolk #autumn #escapetothebrecks #garden #gardening #gardendesign #tree #plant #colour #autumncolour by @westacregardens

The hot summer has produced a particularly good display of autumn berries. The Calicarpa 'Profusion' has jewel-like purple berries which last well into winter. Euonymus phellomanus is a choice shrub which deserves its RHS Award of Garden Merit, as it gives wonderful red autumn leaf colour as well as these stunning bright pink fruits. Both thrive in fertile well drained soil in a sunny position.

#westacregardens #autumn #escapetothebrecks #visitnorfolk #gardening #autumncolour #horticulture #berries #gardendesign by @westacregardens

The annual Specialist Plant Day at Pensthorpe Natural Park is next Sunday, 9th September, from 10 am to 4 pm. There will be 15 specialist nurseries, offering a wide range of perennials, shrubs, grasses, climbers, bulbs, exotic plants, insectivorous plants and roses, all looking their best in the autumn, so if you are looking for inspiration for injecting some extra colour into your garden throughout the rest of the year this is the place to come! Toby Winterbourn will be there too, with his superb range of ornamental garden metalwork.
Pensthorpe are offering reduced admission to all plant fair visitors on the day, which given that the entry fee is only £1 for adults with children's entry free, is a bargain. The entrance fee goes to the charity Family Action based in Swaffham, which supports wellbeing by means of community gardening and makes a positive impact on the lives of many local people.
It is an ideal opportunity to view the wonderful Piet Oudolf plantings in the Pensthorpe gardens too, which are at their best at this time of year.
#westacregardens #events #pensthorpe #escapetothebrecks #norfolk #visitnorfolk #gardening #gardendesign #horticulture by @westacregardens

Salvias have thrived in the recent heatwave and are flowering profusely. They love sun and well drained soil and come in a range of vibrant colours to suit any planting scheme, in shades of red, blue, purple, white and cream. They flower from mid summer until well into the autumn and are a favourite source of nectar for insects. Shown here are 'Amistad', 'Royal Bumble' and 'Clotted Cream'. #westacregardens #salvia #garden #gardening #horticulture #visitnorfolk #escapetothebrecks #gardendesign by @westacregardens

Dahlias are very useful for filling in gaps in a mixed border, adding vibrant colour throughout the summer and autumn. They are easy to grow in most well drained soils, just requiring plenty of sunshine to thrive. Regular deadheading promotes more flowers and keeps the plants looking stunning. It is best to dig up the tubers when the foliage has died back after the first frosts, then they can be stored in cardboard or wooden boxes in a cool, dry place ready for replanting when the weather warms up in the spring. They are available in a huge range of colours and flower shapes, from small tight pom-pom type flowers to large loose cactus type flowers. Here are two of our favourites; Dahlia 'Karma Choc' has gorgeous deepest velvety burgundy flowers and Dahlia 'Jescot Julie' has streaked yellow and orange fronts to the petals and red on the backs, which curl over to give a beautiful multicoloured effect.

#westacregardens #dahlia #flowers #norfolk #gardening #gardendesign #escapetothebrecks #horticulture by @westacregardens

Hemerocallis are commonly known as 'Day Lilies' because each individual flower often lasts for only one day, but they have so many flowers that they look glorious for weeks all through summer. There are dwarf formswhich grow only about 1 ft tall, most varieties grow to middle of a border height at around three foot and some are taller. They come in an incredible range of shades; pure white, all shades of yellow, orange, pink and red, some with frilly edges. Some forms are also delicately fragrant. They are healthy plants, easy to grow, without pest or disease problems.
#dahlia #garden #westacregardens #horticulture #gardendesign #escapetothebrecks #visitnorfolk by @westacregardens

We have been very busy preparing for the Sandringham Flower Show tomorrow. It takes several days to get lots of colourful plants gathered up and prepared and today we have been setting up our stand, which looks gorgeous with such a mix of vibrant flowers. Hopefully some of you will be there tomorrow to see it! Here are a few photos of parts of the display - it wasn't possible to get a good photo of all of it, as it is too large!
#garden #gardening #westacregardens #horticulture #visitnorfolk #escapetothebrecks #gardendesign #sandringham #sandringhamshow #events #plantfair by @westacregardens

Following on from our post last week about Eryngium 'Miss Willmott's Ghost', it has been noticeable that all the Eryngiums in the garden are thriving and putting on the best display for years due to the hot, dry weather. It is good to see some plants benefiting, when many are looking rather frazzled by the heat. Here are photos of Eryngium alpinum which has large vivid blue flowers, Eryngium variifolium with variegated leaves and silver spiky flowers and Eryngium planum with tall stems bearing many small silvery blue flowers. All like to be in full sun and well drained soil.
#gardening #flowers #westacregardens #westacre #norfolk #visitnorfolk #horticulture #gardendesign #hotweather☀️ #inthebrecks by @westacregardens

There is a charming story behind this plant, as a nineteenth century gardener called Miss Willmott liked to secretly scatter seeds of Eryngium giganteum around any gardens she visited, so it came to be known as 'MissWillmott's Ghost'. This common name seems rather suitable in any case, as the silvery cones and bracts have an ethereal air to them, shining out from the border. Our plant is looking amazing at present, standing out against a pink Hydrangea and white Cenolopheum denudatum.
@plants @gardening @gardendesign @westacre @westacregardens @horticulture @norfolk by @westacregardens

Missed cherry blossom season, but the azaleas were flowering in Japan by @westacregardens

The lupins are putting on a fantastic display this year. Some plants seem to have done well on the cool and wet start to the season and have flowered better than usual. Some of the lupins in the garden are named varieties, but a lot are just seedlings and the variations and colour combinations are incredible. They have been so popular this year that our first batches sold out quickly, but we now have a second lot ready.

#westacregardens #lupin #garden #gardendesign #horticulture #plants #flowers by @westacregardens

I'm away in Japan at the moment, so the least I can do is to look out for some interesting plants for you. I found these in the woods around Nikko. The first is apparently a fine specimen of an Arisaema and the second a form of Primula japonica. by @westacregardens