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| Photo 1: Winterbourne House (25th September 2025) |
Last Thursday (25th September 2025) Mary & I caught the 7:09 am train from Hereford to University (Birmingham) for Mary's biannual trip to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham for her regular heart transplant check-up. Everything was fine!
Having made the 80 minute rail journey from Hereford to University, we usually like to make a day of it by visiting local attractions or, sometimes, continuing the journey into Birmingham itself. As the name implies, University (Birmingham) is also the railway station for the University of Birmingham which, fortunately, has some attractions of its own that are open to the public. In the past we have visited The Lapworth Museum of Geology, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts and the Winterbourne House & Gardens which are all just a short walk from the railway station. Currently, The Barber Institute is closed for refurbishment but we plan to revisit when it re-opens in 2026. We have visited the Winterbourne House & Garden on two previous occasions (see here & here), both in Springtime. We thought it would be nice to pay an Autumn visit to see how different the gardens looked at this time of the year.
Fortunately, is was a bright sunny day and, after a quick pit stop for a cuppa tea, we started our walk around the gardens. Being further north than Hereford, the autumn colour change was less pronounced in Birmingham. The recent rains also meant the lawns had recovered from their parched state of the summer months.
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| Photo 2: Winterbourne Gardens (25th September 2025) |
In the woodland area, the 'giant rhubarb' (
Gunnera) had taken over in some places ...
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| Photo 3: Gunnera in the Woodland Area |
As an invasive species, originally from South America, Gunnera is no longer available to buy in the United Kingdom. Existing plants do not have to be destroyed but precautions must be taken to stop them spreading in the wild. Whereas the
skunk cabbage dominated the wet conditions of this woodland in Spring, Autumn is clearly the time for Gunnera.
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| Photo 4: Gunnera as tall as a Man |
The herbaceous borders were a delight showing off their autumn hues ...
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| Photo 5: Autumn Colours in the Borders |
... with the grasses fluttering and glistening in the light breeze and sunny skies.
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| Photo 6: Architectural Grasses, Winterbourne (25th September 2025) |
During our Spring visits in March, the greenhouses often provided some welcome warmth. Not today though!
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| Photo 7: Bitterroot or Lewisia, Winterbourne Greenhouses (25th September 2025) |
In the cactus greenhouse, these Mammillaria geminispina cacti would make an excellent subject for a jigsaw.
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| Photo 8: Mammillaria geminispina, Cactus Greenhouse, Winterbourne (25/9/25) |
It is still possible to have exotic scenes thanks to the warm autumn weather ...
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| Photo 9: Winterbourne, 25th September 2025 |
Finally, there was a nice collection of pitcher plants in one of the greenhouses. Almost as good as our collection in the
bog garden at home ...
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| Photo 10: A Profusion of Pitcher Plants, Winterbourne (25/9/25) |
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