13 October 2026, by Abbie Jones, Co Head Gardener at Furzey Gardens

One minute the garden is still holding onto the last golden days of summer and the next, there are leaves everywhere. On the lawn, in the flowerbeds, floating on ponds and tucked into corners where the wind has decided to leave them. 

And I rather love it. 

There is something about October that makes you look at the garden differently. 

The light is lower, the mornings have a little more crispness to them and suddenly all those glorious autumn colours begin to appear. Golds, russets, copper, crimson and every shade in between. 

If you are lucky enough to visit Furzey this month, there is plenty to look out for. 

Look up at the canopy above 

There’s something wonderfully unselfconscious about how the way trees lose their leaves. They don’t make a fuss about it, first the yellow edges appear, then the gold, copper and russet begin to creep across the canopy. Eventually, one by one, the leaves loosen their grip and flutter down. 

The most interesting thing is that the tree doesn’t look diminished. If anything, once the leaves begin to fall, we see the tree differently. It’s branches, its shape, its beautiful, slightly crooked characters are revealed. The things that were hidden beneath the abundance of summer are revealed.  

Perhaps this is one of the things that I love most about autumn – it reminds us that a garden is never meant to stay the same. There is beauty in abundance, but there is also beauty in bare branches, seedheads, fallen leaves and quiet spaces. 

One of the things I love about gardening is that the more I learn, tidy doesn’t necessarily mean better. It can be tempting this time of year to rush for the secateurs and clear everything away.   

But before you cut everything back, I invite you to take a pause. Those fading stems and seedheads can provide vital shelter and food for wildlife through winter.  

Autumn colours of Disanthus cercidiphyllum

October is a rather busy month for gardeners, even if the garden itself is beginning to look as though it is slowing down. 

It’s a wonderful time to plant trees and shrubs, because the soil is still relatively warm and there is usually more moisture around than during the summer months.  

If you’ve been thinking about planting a tree, this is a very good month to do it. There is something rather lovely about planting something that you know will still be standing there long after you’ve forgotten exactly where you put your gardening gloves.

October is also the perfect time to get your spring bulbs into the ground. Daffodils, crocuses, alliums and other spring-flowering bulbs can be planted now, however I would hold off planting tulips until November – planting tulips too early where the ground is still a little warm increasing the risk of the bulb developing a disease known as ‘tulip fire’, a destructive fungal disease that causes distorted growth. 

You can also plant new herbaceous perennials while the ground is still warm, divide overcrowded plants and take hardwood cuttings from suitable shrubs such as roses, Cornus, Cotinus and Forsythia.  

And if you have roses or climbing roses, October is a good time to give them some attention too. Climbing and rambling roses can be pruned now, while deciduous hedges can have their final trim before winter. 

Just remember not to feed plants heavily this late in the season. Encouraging lots of soft new growth now can leave plants more vulnerable to cold and wet weather.

October is when some of Furzey’s trees really begin to steal the show. The Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ turns a wonderful deep crimson, while Acer palmatum ‘Shindeshojo’ brings flashes of orange and pink. Around the lake, look out for Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’, whose foliage takes on beautiful autumnal tones, alongside the swamp cypress, whose foliage glows bronze and copper. 

The Nyssa sinensis, or Chinese tupelo, is another autumn star, with leaves turning rich pumpkin and amber shades. And if you are visiting later in the season, Liquidambar formosana ‘Monticola’ is one to look for, as it can hold onto its autumn colour well into November. 

There are some lovely shrubs and smaller trees to notice too. Enkianthus perulatus develops fiery red autumn foliage, while Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’, the beautiful ‘Wedding Cake Tree’, turns red-purple before losing its leaves. Styrax japonicus, or Japanese snowbell, changes to a lovely yellow in autumn. 

Autumn has arrived at Furzey – and it has brought its paintbox.

Liquidambar formosana ‘Monticola’

As the trees turn their wonderful autumn colours, little ones can look even closer at nature with Larry the Leaf’s Great Autumn Hunt, running from 24 October to 1 November. 

Equipped with their own decorated magnifying glass and spotter sheet, children can search for the changing signs of autumn and become nature detectives for the day. The trail costs £3 per child. You do not need to pre-book the trail, but pre-booking your garden entrance during half term is essential. 

For a quieter look at nature, visit our photography exhibition Nature through my eyes on the top lawn, created by people we support here at Furzey Gardens. This is a wonderful opportunity to see how neuro disabled people connect with the gardens, and you may even feel inspired to enter our photography competition yourself. 

Family favourite Apple Day returns to the gardens for its fifth year on 17 October, from 10am to 4pm. Celebrate all things apple with joyful family games, local craft stalls and the chance to have your own apples identified by apple expert Chris Bird. You can even turn them into delicious juice, just bring your own container to take it home. 

Finish your visit with a stop in the Tea Rooms, where delicious apple-inspired treats will be waiting. 

Family walk through autumn gardens with Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ in background

This article originally appeared as the monthly In The Garden column in the Lymington Times, buy the paper on the second Friday of every month to read the next column first.