HOME & GARDEN: Gardens to enjoy this April in Wiltshire
We have some lovely new gardens here in Wiltshire, opening for everyone to enjoy this year. We detail which ones you can plan a visit to this April…
Sunday 3rd
Corsham Court
Corsham, SN13 0BZ.
Lord Methuen, 01249 701610, staterooms@corsham-court.co.uk, www.corsham-court.co.uk.
4m W of Chippenham. Signed off A4 at Corsham. For NGS: Sun 20 Mar, Sun 3 Apr (2-5.30). Adm £10, chd £5. For other opening times and information, please phone, email or visit garden website.
Park and gardens laid out by Capability Brown and Repton. Large lawns with fine specimens of ornamental trees surround the Elizabethan mansion. C18 bath house hidden in the grounds. Spring bulbs, beautiful lily pond with Indian bean trees, young arboretum and stunning collection of magnolias. Wheelchair (not motorised) access to house, gravel paths in garden.
Thursday 7th
Cadenham Manor
Foxham, Chippenham, SN15 4NH. Victoria & Martin Nye, garden@cadenham.com, www.cadenham.com.
B4069 from Chippenham or M4 J17, turn R in Christian Malford & L in Foxham. On A3102 turn L from Calne or R from Lyneham at Xrds between Hilmarton & Goatacre. See map https://www.cadenham.com/contact. Thur 7 Apr, Thur 9 June (2-5). Adm £10, chd free. Pre-booking essential, please visit www.ngs.org.uk for information & booking. Home-made teas. Refreshments in aid of another charity. Visits also by arrangement Mar to Oct for groups of 15 to 40.
This glorious 4 acre garden surrounds a listed C17 manor house and C16 dovecote. Divided by yew hedges and moats, its many rooms are furnished with specimen trees and fountains and statues to focus the eye. Known for its stunning displays of old roses, it also has bold swathes of spring bulbs, wisteria, bearded iris, a water garden in the old canal, plus extensive vegetable and herb gardens.
Friday 22nd
Blackland House
Quemerford, Calne, SN11 8UQ. Polly & Edward Nicholson, www.bayntunflowers.co.uk. Situated just off A4. Use Google Maps. Enter the grounds through the side entrance signed St. Peter’s Church & Blackland Park Deliveries. Opp The Willows on Quemerford. Fri 22 Apr, Sun 1 May (2.30-4). Adm £10, chd free. Pre-booking essential, please visit www.ngs.org.uk for information & booking. Home-made teas. Vegan & gluten free cakes. Donation to Dorothy House Hospice.
A wonderfully varied 5 acre garden adjacent to River Marden (house not open). Formal walled productive and cutting garden, traditional glasshouses, rose garden and wide herbaceous borders. Interesting topiary, trained fruit trees, historic tulips and other unusual spring bulbs. Hand-tied bunches of flowers for sale. House and Garden, Country Life, Gardens Illustrated. Partial wheelchair access, steps, grass and cobbles, wooden bridges.
Saturday 23rd
Iford Manor Gardens
Bradford-on-Avon, BA15 2BA.
Mr Cartwright-Hignett,
01225 863146, info@ifordmanor.co.uk, www.ifordmanor.co.uk.
7m S of Bath. Off A36, brown tourist sign to Iford 1m. From Bradford-on-Avon or Trowbridge via Lower Westwood Village (brown signs). Please note all approaches via narrow, single track lanes with passing places. For NGS: Sat 23 Apr (11-4). Adm £7.50. Pre-booking essential, please phone 01225 863146, email info@ifordmanor.co.uk or visit http://www.ifordmanor.co.uk for information & booking. Children under 10 will not be admitted to the garden. For other opening times and information, please phone, email or visit garden website.
Harold Peto’s former home, this 2½ acre terraced garden provides timeless inspiration. Influenced by his travels, particularly to Italy and Japan, Peto embellished the garden with a collection of classical statuary and architectural fragments. Steep steps link the terraces with pools, fountains, loggias, colonnades, urns and figures, with magnificent rural views across the Iford Valley. Lunches, cream teas and cakes all served with a selection of hot and cold drinks in the on site cafe. Wine also available. Country Life (various articles) The English Garden (various articles) American Vicountess (YouTube channel).
The Parish House
West Knoyle, Mere, BA12 6AJ. Philip & Alex Davies.
From E on A303 take signpost to West Knoyle at petrol station. Continue down hill and past church, take first R signposted Charnage, continue 1m to end of lane. Parking in field on L. Sat 23 Apr, Sun 17 July (2-5). Adm £5, chd free. Home-made teas. Refreshments in aid of St Mary the Virgin, West Knoyle.
The garden at The Parish House is small and south facing surrounded by hedges protecting it from the exposure of a high wide open landscape beyond. The garden is laid out with gravel to encourage a self-seeding natural look but there are also roses and herbaceous perennials as well. The look is held together with topiary. Beyond this garden there is a larger area of lawn, trees and developing bulb cover (Camassias in May). Large conservatory greenhouse containing mature Muscat grapevine and pelargoniums. Small vegetable garden. Country Living Nov 2021. Level but gravel surfaces, some lawn.
Sunday 24th
Broadleas House Gardens
Devizes, SN10 5JQ. Mr & Mrs Cardiff. 1m S of Devizes. Turn L from Hartmoor Rd onto Broadleas Park. Follow the road until you reach grassed area on R with red brick wall, stone pillars, grey gates & cattle grid, which is the entrance. Sun 24 Apr, Sun 19 June, Sun 21 Aug (2-5.30). Adm £7, chd free. Home-made teas. Refreshments in aid of Local Macmillan Care Trusts.
6 acre garden of hedges, perennial borders, walled rose garden, secret garden, bee garden and orchard stuffed with good plants. Well-stocked kitchen and herb garden. Mature collection of specimen trees inc oaks, magnolia, handkerchief, redwood, dogwood. Overlooked by the house and arranged above the valley garden crowded with magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, cornus, hydrangeas etc. Broadleas’ professional beekeeper, Graham Davison sells honey at open days. Rob Waller, head gardener, regular contributor to BBC Radio Wiltshire Garden Time. Country Life, House and Garden, Wiltshire Life, BBC Radio 2 Big Bee Challenge. Wheelchair access to upper garden only, some gravel and narrow grass paths.
Cottage in the Trees
Tidworth Rd, Boscombe Village, nr Salisbury, SP4 0AD.
Karen Robertson, 01980 610921, robertson909@btinternet.com.
7m N of Salisbury. Turn L off A338 just before Social Club. Continue past church, turn R after bridge to Queen Manor, cottage 150yds on R. Sun 24 Apr, Sun 15 May, Sun 5 June (1.30-5). Adm £4, chd free. Home-made teas. Open nearby The Old Rectory, Boscombe on 5 June. Refreshments in aid of Salisbury Hospice Charity. Visits also by arrangement Apr to Sept.
Enchanting ½ acre cottage garden, immaculately planted with water feature, raised vegetable beds, small wildlife pond and gravel garden. Spring bulbs, hellebores and pulmonarias give a welcome start to the season, with pots and baskets, roses and clematis. Mixed borders of herbaceous plants, collection of geraniums, dahlias, grasses and shrubs giving year-round interest. Large variety of cottage plants for sale, grown from the garden.
Foxley Manor
Foxley, Malmesbury, SN16 0JJ. Richard & Louisa Turnor.
2m W of Malmesbury. 10 mins from J17 on M4. Turn towards Malmesbury/Cirencester, then towards Norton and follow signs for the Vine Tree, yellow signs from here. Sun 24 Apr (12-4). Adm £7, chd free. Home-made teas. Refreshments in aid of Church.
Yew hedges divide lawns, borders, rose garden, lily pond and a newer wild area with a natural swimming pond shaded by a liriodendron. Views through large Turkey oaks to farmland beyond. Small courtyard gravel garden. Sculptures are sited throughout the gardens.
Rudge Lane, Oare, nr Pewsey, SN8 4JQ. Sir Henry Keswick. 2m N of Pewsey. On Marlborough Rd (A345). Sun 24 Apr, Sun 26 June (1.30-6). Adm £8, chd free. Home-made teas in potting shed. Donation to The Order of St John.
1740s mansion house later extended by Clough Williams Ellis in 1920s (not open). The original formal gardens around the house have been developed over the years to create a wonderful garden full of many unusual plants. Current owner is very passionate and has developed a fine collection of rarities. Garden is undergoing a renaissance but still maintains split compartments each with its own individual charm; traditional walled garden with fine herbaceous borders, vegetable areas, trained fruit, roses and grand mixed borders surrounding formal lawns. The magnolia garden is wonderful in spring with some trees dating from 1920s, together with strong bulb plantings. Large arboretum and woodland with many unusual and champion trees. In spring and summer there is always something of interest, with the glorious Pewsey Vale as a backdrop. Partial wheelchair access.
Saturday 30th
Manor Farm House
Manor Farm Lane, Patney, Devizes, SN10 3RB. Mark & Tricia Alsop. Between Pewsey & Devizes. Take 3rd entrance on L going up Manor Farm Lane from village green. Parking available in paddock. Sat 30 Apr (2-5). Adm £6, chd free. Home-made teas. Refreshments in aid of The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust.
2 acre plantsman’s garden designed by Michael Balston and updated by us over the past 10 yrs. Lawned areas with borders surrounded by yew hedging, long border and gravel garden by tennis court, formal vegetable garden with buxus parterres and meadow with spring bulbs, box mound and walkway through moist plants garden. Limited wheelchair access due to upward slope and gravel paths. No WC.
By Arrangement www.ngs.org.uk/wiltshire-by-arrangement
Arrange a personalised garden visit with your club, or group of friends, on a date to suit you. See individual garden entries for full details.
Bluebells – April to September
Cadenham Manor – March to October
Cottage in the Trees – April to September
New Scots Farm – April to September
West Lavington Manor – January to December
