Visit the gardens at Dyffryn

Top garden features during autumn

Dyffryn Gardens is simply spectacular in autumn. After the lush abundance of the summer, the Arboretum transitions into a rich rainbow of warming colours. The acers look their best at this time of year, showing off their reddish gold hues. Follow your nose and discover the scent of toffee apples from the Katsura trees as their leaves fall and start to decay.

Throughout the turn and shift of the seasons the Garden Rooms remain full of texture and colour and from late summer until the first frost you can still see our spectacular Dahlias and Ginger Lilies in the Exotics Garden.

There is also a unique and magical gourd display in the Glass House, which is a must-see on an autumnal visit to Dyffryn.

Waxcaps start popping-up in the damp but warmer weather of the autumn months. We have regular waxcap surveys and some beautiful examples of rare and colourful waxcaps all throughout the gardens. It's well worth coming to Dyffryn on a waxcap hunt.

We have lots of migratory birds stopping off at Dyffryn in the autumn to stock-up on nutrients on their way to warmer climates for the winter - there are Mistle Thrushes, Fieldfares and the occasional Waxwing. We also grow late forage plants as nectar sources for Queen Bees so they too can stock-up on nutrients ahead of their hibernation period.

This autumn we’re making Dyffryn Gardens even more spectacular than usual with our specially curated celebration of autumn, Into the Canopies.

Into the Canopies

Relish the turning of the seasons this autumn with a series of events and installations designed to help you experience nature in new ways and from new perspectives.

Peer through a camera obscura to see a treescape upside down or pause to take a closer look up into the tree canopies as they cascade down around you. Take in the spectacle of the autumn harvest of gourds as they hang from the ceiling of the Glass House in a colourful and unusual display.

With a self-led walk and outdoor exhibition, you’ll come across the highlights of the season and discover the stories behind the living collection of plants and trees that make up the stunning array of autumn colour. Find out more about how we care for this living collection through the exhibition and on free tours of the Arboretum happening throughout the autumn.

Into the Canopies brings creativity and wellbeing into the forefront during the autumn season, too. Find peace in the Sensory Reflection Trail, which hosts audio reflections at carefully chosen locations throughout the gardens, all designed to help you breathe out and notice nature. Or pick up a creative kit and let the inspiration of the season guide you to make something beautiful. If you prefer something more structured, try one of the events on offer, from tree-bathing to felting and autumn wreath-making.

Into the Canopies starts on 16 September and runs through to 30 November. Some of the events are free and some are ticketed. Find out more about these events in the upcoming events section.

Garden tours

Discover more on one of the Into the Canopies tours happening throughout the season.

Join a free Arboretum tour with arborist Rory Ambrose and take in the highlights of the season. With a summer to autumn tour on 24 September, Rory will talk through the changes the trees undergo as they transition from one season to another, and how we care for and develop this significant collection of

trees and shrubs. As autumn progresses and the colour begins to come through, he’ll host autumn colour tours during which you’ll be guided to the most spectacular trees in the Arboretum as they explode into a variety of warming tones and hues. Book your spot on these free tours here.

Take a peek behind the scenes on a tour of the Gardeners Yard on 19 November. This is an exclusive opportunity to see an area of Dyffryn not usually open to visitors. It's where gardeners nurture an extensive plant nursery and undertake a large amount of plant cultivation. You’ll hear more about how we plan and grow on for the gardens here, as well as getting some tips to take home for you own gardening. Tour tickets cost £5, book your spot here.

These tours are a great opportunity to find out what it takes to look after a garden like Dyffryn, what jobs the team undertake to keep it healthy and thriving and what challenges they face. It’s also a great opportunity to ask questions and learn about how to best look after your own green spaces.

Autumn walks

Every season we have a free self-guided walk which showcases seasonal beauty spots at Dyffryn Gardens. Pick-up your Autumn Walk map from the Welcome Centre when you arrive, it will take you round the gardens highlighting which areas look best during this lovely time of year.

As autumn progresses, what you’ll see on your walk will change depending on how the weather has been and when in the season you come - keep your trail leaflet and return throughout autumn to see how the gardens change as the year wends its way to a close.

The small plant labels which indicate you've reached a spot marked on the map will give information about the plant collection at Dyffryn Gardens. This year's Autumn Walk will be like strolling round an outdoor museum, with a beautiful living collection, marked for your notice with the species name and facts about why each plant is of special note.

While you're on your stroll you'll also see beautiful viewpoint structures and sculptures, specially designed to help you see the garden in new ways. These are part of the Dyffryn Gardens autumn celebration, Into the Canopies.

Another aspect of this autumnal celebration is the Sensory Reflection Trail. This free and unique meditation helps you engage with nature and use all your senses to ground yourself in the season. You’ll be given an mp3 player and headphones to listen to a specially written and recorded walking meditation which will take you round four stations in the gardens where you'll be guided through exploring the nature around you through vision, hearing, touch and smell. Finish with a notecard meditation to use either in the café after your walk or with the picnic/drink/snack you've brought with you, bringing the sense of taste into the sensory experience.

Find out more about the Autumn Walk here, the Sensory Reflection Trail here and Into the Canopies here.

Christmas at Dyffryn Gardens

Get all the cosy festive family feels at Dyffryn Gardens this Christmas. Discover merry scenes nestled in the gardens, play lots of family games and take photos in Father Christmas’ sleigh or in front of the giant Christmas tree. Don’t forget to swing by our second-hand bookshop where there'll be Christmas crafts and jolly events taking place throughout December and the Christmas holidays. Find out more here.

Winter highlights

It may be winter, but the gardens at Dyffryn are anything but bleak. At this time of year the aromas of scented shrubs including Christmas box, winter sweet and winter honeysuckle fill the chilly air. Discover more delicate scents from sarcococca, chimonanthus and hamamelisna as you head around the gardens on a winter wander.

Winter flowering plants

Look out for early snowdrops. You'll often find them tucked under trees alongside clusters of hellebores dotted around the gardens. Other winter flowering plants to look out for include camellia and cyclamen.

Inside the heated glasshouse, you'll find orchids, bromeliads and aloes flowering in an oasis of colour and warmth, in contrast to the cold weather outside.

Structural splendour

The bare forms of deciduous trees and spectacular bark come to the fore in the winter. The great spire of the dawn redwood in the Exotics Garden is a real favourite. And be sure to seek out the bright bark of the young birches on the Kennel Bank and the mottled cinnamon of stewartia stems in the Arboretum.

Winter wander

1 January

After the hectic energy which often accompanies the end of one year and the start of another, a quiet winter walk is a great way to look after your body and mind during the ongoing winter months.

Pick-up your winter wander leaflet from the Welcome Centre when you arrive, it has a full-site map of the gardens and all the most interesting sections of the garden during the winter are highlighted so you can easily find them. Features such as snowdrops, early crocuses, Christmas Box, and ornamental grass. The map also points out where you can find our Glasshouse for a warming taste of the tropical even in the heart of winter.

On the back of the leaflet you can learn a bit about what our gardeners are up to over the winter and what we need to do to prepare the gardens for the spring.