The Topiary Garden

A large topiary snail guards the entrance to the car-park. Visitors approach the house along a pleached lime-walk and pass through a wicket-gate set in a zig-zag hedge of yew, which suggests the old idea of a maze.

Animal Topiary

Here can be seen a variety of box and yew shrubs trimmed into shapes of amusing animals and birds, some forming part of a 'topiary theatre'. In the summer months, colourful parterres and a brilliant display of hollyhocks complete the picturesque scene, painted by many artists.

The Terrace Garden

Hidden behind the high 'rampart' hedge of yew, and glimpsed through a wide stone arch, is the Terrace Garden, with its herbaceous borders and rose-beds. This garden is occasionally used for open-air performances and private functions.

The 'Secret Garden'

Crossing a wooden bridge, visitors immediately see the massive 140 ft fruit wall, which borders the original Victorian vegetable garden with its potting shed, now our Rural Museum. A door in the wall leads to the former heated 'pineapple' pits and herbaceous borders.

The Jubilee Rose Garden

Visitors can wander through the Jubilee Rose Garden and the Terracotta Garden to the newly-established English Poetry Garden with unusual curved pergola and circular broadwalk, then along the Woodland Walk to the wild garden

Terracotta Garden

This formal garden is beautifully laid out with terracotta pots, flower borders and a central fountain.