Wakehurst Place in West Sussex was the destination for the joint coach trip with Reading Gardeners on Thursday 1st November, organised by Ian Duddle. Wakehurst Place is a joint enterprise between the National Trust and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The visit had been arranged to catch the best of the autumn colours, but it proved to be an unpredictable season – many trees were still green, some had already dropped their leaves and a few were at their best. Near the entrance to the gardens was an eye-catching drift of pink and white cyclamens. Two guided tours of the grounds had been organised. The first group started out via the enormous sequoias to the water garden. Next to the stream were a number of clumps of Royal Fern and several Black Poplar trees were growing nearby. The path then went along the side of the valley to a viewpoint which looked out over a steep outcrop of sandstone. The route continued into an area with North American trees, before returning through the pinetum, where there were some interesting fungi, including a clump of Fly Agarics and a ring of funnel-shaped fungi. On the lawn in front of the house, the spikes of many small yellow club fungi were poking through the grass. In the afternoon, most of the party looked round the Millenium Seed Bank. There were informative displays about the collection, cleaning, drying and chilling of the seeds. One of the panels explained the problem of recalcitrant seeds, which cannot be dried below 40% moisture and which are only viable for a limited time. These include Sweet Chestnut and Oak.
Pictures by Chris Ash