Dyffryn Gardens in the Vale of Glamorgan has just been voted the top Special Place in Wales in a National Trust survey. I went there on January 2 this year, but never did get around to blogging about it. I visited again on July 7, so now I am combining the two visits into a series of blog posts on different themes. This first one contrasts the garden treasures of midwinter and midsummer.
Dyffryn Gardens have been under the stewardship of the National Trust since January 2013 and obviously it is a long job to get it back to its former Edwardian glory after seven decades of council control – finances gradually dwindled for local authorities in the UK during this time.
I’ll say more about the history when I share my pictures of the interior of the house in another blog post, but in summary, the present house was built in the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 19th, under the ownership of coal-owner and ship-owner John Cory. When he died in 1910 his son Reginald took over development of the gardens. Reginald was big in the Royal Horticultural Society and sponsored plant-hunting expeditions which brought back choice specimens for his growing botanical gardens.
After Reginald Cory died the house passed to his sister, Florence, for a few years, but when she died it was sold to landowner Sir Cennydd Traherne, a famous name in these parts, who became Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan. He soon leased the property to the council and when he died in the 1990s his nephew sold the freehold to the council.
Our January 2015 visit was the first in decades – our previous day out there had been in 1990, the council-run era when there was even a butterfly house in the gardens and it was all very jolly.
As members of the National Trust we get in “free” and some would say that on a day in the middle of winter there isn’t much to see at Dyffryn Gardens, but I always find little “treasures”.
I always recognise Garrya, as I came across it when researching plants named after people. It’s named after Nicholas Garry (1781-1856) of the Hudson Bay Company, a friend of the plant collector David Douglas, who introduced Garrya from North America to Europe in 1827.
However, this next shrub was new to me…
When I looked at the picture later I reached for my Dr D G Hessayon’s Flowering Shrub Expert book. I often search in this, looking at every page of the alphabetical guide to see if I can recognise the picture. It didn’t take long this time. It was the first entry – Abelia. It’s probably Abelia x grandiflora, known as “glossy abelia”. Interestingly it has trumpet-shaped flowers, but when they fall the pink sepals remain – which is what I saw…
Had I been more organised, I would have taken pictures from exactly the same positions in winter and summer, for comparison. But I wasn’t. However, I hope these will give a general idea of the changing seasons…
But nearby in winter there was also wonderful moss in fruit…
In summer the colour is more obvious, but Dyffryn Garden is not one of those places abounding in herbaceous borders. I did snap some blooms…

I wish this could be a scratch and sniff picture, as the perfume of these old-fashioned roses was wonderful!

My first thought was Viburnum, but of course I was wrong. Thanks to Diana in Cape Town, who I can always depend on to identify garden plants for me. She recognised it as a heliotrope and I think it is probably Heliotropium arborescens – I won’t forget that one again, it’s lovely…

I took a picture of this fading foxglove at Dyffryn purely because I have seen so many around along roadsides this summer but hadn’t been able to stop to capture them

The labels nearby were for Paeonia suffruticosa and Paeonia ludlowii, but I didn’t believe this fat pod belonged to a peony. But thanks to Hollis in Wyoming, who confirmed that peony pods DO look like this!
Going back to the pictures from my winter visit, something I failed to find when I returned in summer was a steamy glasshouse full of cacti and orchids. I probably just wasn’t trying hard enough…
And finally, anyone recognise this small bird feather picked up on my July visit? It is pale brown, slightly barred and with a white spot…
If you missed it at the top of this post, click on the picture below to go to the story about Dyffryn gardens becoming the top Special Place in Wales…
Nice idea for a blog post, Pat. I’m ashamed to say I’ve only had one fairly short visit to DSG this year, despite it being one of the reasons for becoming NT members (there wasn’t a property anywhere near Cardiff till they acquired DG and Tredegar House, so we saw little reason to join).
It’s a great place to learn about the birds and the bees – literally. NT plants pollinator friendly flowers and shrubs so there are always lots of insects.
Thanks for your kind words.
The two-seasons theme was a necessity, really, as I still hadn’t gotten around to processing my January pictures!
Our stays were not very long, either, as we tend to rush around a bit. One thing I haven’t yet shared is the wonderful trees in the arboretum area. That will make several posts.
Any ideas on the identity of the bird feather towards the end of the post?
Best wishes 🙂
Wonderful photos, Pat, and so much of interest. Great to see Garrya elliptica, an old friend from California. The fruiting moss is my favorite. The fat pod looks like a peony’s to me, no idea what kind. And Time’s Arrow is so appropriate today … for some reason it feels like the beginning of the end of summer, sigh.
Thanks for all that. Funny you see Garrya “in the wild” where you come from.
The plant with the fat pods was labelled with two different Peony names nearby, but it looked like nothing I could find in pictures.
I am also detecting summer’s end, even though we haven’t been on vacation yet. I can always tell, as the spiders and their webs get bigger… and bigger…
All the best 🙂
Thanks for all that. Funny you see Garrya “in the wild” where you come from.
The plant with the fat pods was labelled with two different Peony names nearby, but it looked like nothing I could find in pictures.
I am also detecting summer’s end, even though we haven’t been on vacation yet. I can always tell, as the spiders and their webs get bigger… and bigger…
All the best 🙂
this one. Heliotrope?
And added Abelia to my list (but, where to plant it ??)
Brilliant! Thank you so much.
That is one I will definitely add to my list of things I can now identify!
It seems to be Heliotropium arborescens and comes from Peru. Lovely shrub – and I see it’s where the colour heliotrope comes from. I had heard the name (very Victorian) but didn’t even know it was purple.
Best wishes 🙂
Lovely photographs brought back memories of visiting Duffryn when the kids were young! I like to visit gardens in winter when their layout is clean and clear and you see the shapes of trees and shrubs. I am always amazed by how much is flowering then too. From your comparison pics it looks like you had bluer clearer skies on the winter visit!
Funnily enough, yes, there were more blue skies last winter. We are having a very wet summer, aren’t we?
I always feel as if I have visited from your posts Pat. Living vicariously through you …
Great photos.
Ditto through your blog!
And I am nearly half-way through Written in the Blood. Wooooo! Another excellent but heart-stopping read.
I’ll comment on Jera’s Jamboree when I’ve finished…
Cheers 🙂