Q & A
London's Fall Gardens
Q. I will be in London this fall and hope that the public gardens will have some interesting autumnal displays. Can you provide information?  -- Alexandra Maynard, Cincinnati
A. Fall is a good time to visit many of the gardens in and around London, not only for the seasonal foliage but also for the comparative lack of crowds.
In October and November, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew will offer a series of events under the banner 'Fruitful Autumn at Kew.' There will be displays of pumpkins, gourds and other members of the cucurbit family, and on Oct. 28 and 29, apple celebrations will feature exhibits on various kinds of apples and a cider-making machine. The grass garden is popular during the fall and on Oct. 21, 22 and 28, the role of grasses in contemporary gardens and in making mats, baskets and other goods will be examined in exhibits and in traditional story-telling sessions. A restoration of the garden's Broad Walk will start on Nov. 3 to 5, when workers in 19th-century costume will use a horse-drawn tree planter to replant cedars along the wide pathway from the central lake to the orangery that was originally laid out by the landscape designer William Nesfield in 1845. Kew Gardens is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Admission is $7, $3.50 for children 5 to 16 (calculated at 71 pence to the dollar). Information: (44-20) 8332 5655.
The Chelsea Physic Garden, founded in 1673 by the Society of Apothecaries, houses what is believed to be one of the earliest rock gardens in Europe, created with balsatic lava brought back by the botanist Sir Joseph Banks from Iceland in 1772. Fall highlights of the four-acre garden are such flowering bulbs  as Guernsey lilies, a flowering crab apple tree and the brilliant red foliage of the American Tupelo tree. The garden, at 66 Royal Hospital Road, London, is open Wednesday and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. until Oct. 31. Admission is $5.65. Information: (44-20) 7352 5646.
Fenton House, a 17th-century house in Hampstead, about three miles from central London, has a  lovely, terraced garden of about one acre, with hollies, yew hedges and an orchard. The garden, on Windmill Hill in London, is open Wednesday to Friday, 2 to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends until Oct. 31. Admission is $6. Information: (44-20) 7435 3471.
Also in Hampstead are the 120-acre gardens of the neo-classical Kenwood House. The oak and beech woods to the south of two large lakes are especially beautiful in the fall. The gardens, on Hampstead Lane, are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October, and until 4 p.m. from November through March. Admission is free. Information: (44-20) 8348 1286.
Hudson River Festivities
Q. Are any of the historic estates along the Hudson River organizing events during the long Thanksgiving weekend? -- Josephine Sardone, Rochester
A. Historic Hudson Valley, the organization that manages several sites on or near the Hudson River in New York, is offering a variety of  special programs for visitors during the Thanksgiving weekend. They all, however, focus on another holiday: Christmas.
At Montgomery Place, in Annandale-on-Hudson, there will be two holiday-decorating workshops. On Saturday, Nov. 25, from 10 a.m. to noon, children 7 to 10 years old can make Christmas ornaments to take home. The cost is $10 a person, $8 for members. The following day, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., a workshop for adults focuses on creating decorative centerpieces. The cost is $20, $18 for members. You can also take a 45-minute tour of the early 19th-century, Federal house, which will be in the process of being decorated for a 1920's Christmas. The tour costs $6, $5 for seniors and $3 for children 5 to 17. Information: (845) 758-5461, extension 16.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 24 through 26, at Sunnyside, Washington Irving's cottage in Tarrytown, visitors can attend a Christmas Premiere Weekend at the 17th-century cottage. Children can make Victorian Christmas cards, eat cookies and candy, and decorate a gingerbread model of Sunnyside, while adults can admire the traditional 19th-century decorations. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and $4 for children 5 to 17. Information: (914) 591-8763.
The 18th-century Van Cortlandt Manor, in Croton-on-Hudson, will have its own Christmas Premiere Weekend, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Nov. 24 through 26. Candle lanterns, a marzipan hedgehog, wreaths and ribbons are among the decorations. There will be live period music and  crafts for children. Admission is $8, $7 for seniors and $4 for children 5 to 17. Information: (914) 271-8981.
Cooking in Umbria
Q. I'm interested in taking cooking classes anywhere in Umbria this fall, preferably a program that includes sightseeing excursions. -- Maxine P. Leonard, Syracuse
A. Perhaps the only thing better than eating Italian food is learning how to prepare it. Here are a few places in Umbria that organize cooking classes.
The Palazzo Terranova, an eight-room hotel near Citta di Castello, has a program that includes shopping in Umbrian markets, visiting local food producers and participating in the preparation of meals. The British owner of the hotel, Sarah Townsend, assists in the cooking classes and also organizes tours to Umbrian vineyards and trips to nearby towns and cities, like Perugia. Every weekend in November, the hotel will offer Feasts of the Forest workshops, which focus on ingredients like porcini mushrooms, truffles and olive oil. Prices for the program are about $135 a day, in addition to accommodations, which range from about $280 to $590, at a rate of 2,237 lire to the dollar. Information: (39 075) 8570083 or visit www.palazzoterranova.com.
The American chef and cookbook author Evan Kleiman holds weeklong cooking courses just outside of Todi, using a recently restored farmhouse as her base, where students also stay. Participants shop in local markets for the ingredients that will be used in the day's cooking class. Day trips to nearby towns like Perugia, Orvieto and Assisi as well as visits to local food producers round out the week's activities. In the fall, the courses highlight olive oil, porcini mushrooms, chestnuts and wild boar. Prices start at $2,800 for the course, including lodging. Information: (323) 936-9086.
SUZANNE MacNEILLE