Autumn Colour at Beth Chatto's

"We shut at 4.30 - today is the last day we're open this year," the lady in the little ticket selling booth said. With the sun setting and 30 minutes of light left, we left the website manager's mother in the garden center and head for the Beth Chatto's garden.

A sleeping garden

We visited the Beth Chatto Gardens in Elmstead Market, Colchester, Essex this Autumn. It was late in the day and the sun was low in the sky.

We had the water and reservoir gardens all to ourselves. The time of year meant the gardens were more texture and less colour, but the reflections of the redwoods, cypress and oak trees made up for that.

So many gardens

We walked along shady paths, sat in sensible garden seats and took a few photos. With limited light and little time on our hands we had to miss out the Gravel and Woodland Gardens. We'll return next year in may and put a whole day aside to explore the Beth Chatto Gardens.