The gardens at Beningbrough Hall

Cold frames and a glasshouse in the Kitchen Garden at Beningbrough Hall, North Yorkshire — All the food grown at Beningbrough Hall is used by the Walled Garden Restaurant

Discover the formal gardens, walled kitchen garden, herbaceous borders and recently introduced Pergola, all of which make up the many, varied gardens at Beningbrough.

A labour of love

There are over eight acres of formal gardens to explore, relax among the flowers or maybe compare the size of your vegetables. They include a two acre working walled garden with a large fruit collection, several herbaceous borders, a newly installed and planted pergola and less formal areas managed for wildlife. Each area tends to be at its best at a different time of the year and watching the season change is often a reason visitors return time after time.

Video

Explore the Beningbrough gardens

Gardener Mark knows the formal gardens inside out. He's worked in the walled garden for over 20 years and knows all about out the produce we grow and seasonal wildlife. Join him for a short video looking at the summer highlights in some of the borders and what you might expect when visiting at different times of the year.

The Pergola

We’ve reached the second exciting and most significant development yet for Beningbrough’s garden transformation, the planting of the new Pergola. In spring 2018, the garden team of staff and volunteers started planting the shrubs that will bring this sunny spot to life. The Wisteria 'Alba' is in its infancy now, but holds all the promise for this tranquil area of the gardens.

The 300,000 bulbs planted along the ha-ha walk in autumn 2016 were the first changes introduced as part of award winning garden designer Andy Sturgeon's garden vision for Beningbrough.

Read more about the garden vision project.

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The Pergola at Beningbrough

The first new garden from Andy Sturgeon's long term vision for Beningbrough was officially opened in June 2018. Hear more about the creation of this tranquil spot from Andy and the garden team.

Double herbaceous border

The heady scent of mock orange fills the air along the pathway through this part of the garden, at its best in early summer. Pastel colours prevail in swathes of perennials including geraniums, peonies and wisteria growing up obelisk frames.

A little piece of Italy

Beningbrough was built in 1716 by John Bourchier following his Grand Tour around Europe and was particularly inspired by his stay in Italy. The Italian border is filled in high summer with colourful Mediterranean blooms suited to hot climates and periods of drought but still able to withstand the Yorkshire climate. One of the next major phases in the garden's developments will be to tranform this whole area into the Mediterranean garden with planting over the entire area, not just the borders, a new water feature and pathways to get in among the garden.

Bulbs, blossom and blooms

Often described as a garden for all seasons, the changes throughout the year can be tracked with a different area looking at its best. Winter structure makes way for the first shoots and bulbs. Falling blossom petals create carpets of colour and borders fill with summer blooms turning in time to autumn seed heads.

Step along the ha-ha walk in late winter and early spring

In 2016 visitors helped to mark Beningbrough's 300th birthday by planting 300,000 bulbs on a new walk along the south ha-ha. As winter turns to spring this area is blanketed in colour, from the white of the snowdrops to the pale purple of the crocus and the vibrant yellows of the daffodils. Stretch your legs and soak up the views over the south parkland and beyond.

Beningbrough Hall ha-ha walk carpeted in snowdrops — The ha-ha walk at Beningbrough carpeted in snowdrops

Bedding out Victorian style

The West Formal Garden sits next to the conservatory, a Victorian addition to the hall. The planting changes twice a year, as was the Victorian fashion to show off the brightest and boldest plants and foliage. The East Formal, in contrast, is a cool, scented space to watch the fish or sit in the summer house.

Walled garden

A stroll around Beningbrough's walled garden will take you through the historic pear arch, under the vines in the greenhouse and passed the growing produce. It's a popular spot for visitors and because of the confined space and use of produce, this along with the play area are the only parts of the garden that dogs are not permitted to visit.

Over 50 varieties of apples & pears, plus many other fruits & vegetables, are cultivated using traditional methods in two acres of enclosed kitchen garden. Harvested produce like the Beetroots below are used in the restaurant and surplus sold through the shop.

Download the Beningbrough Walled Garden fruit plan (PDF / 0.2MB) download

Take a bit of Beningbrough home

If you're inspired after your exploring, pause at the stables shop for something for your own bit of green space. Inside browse the books or head to the outdoor shop where for most of the year you can find tools, kits and ornaments to decorate your patch with. The benches are full of plants as the season evolves and the team can happily ask the gardeners if there was a particular plant you're after. There's a changing local bench for when the garden team have surplus from their propagation or harvested produce and in autumn a range of bulbs to pick up.

Beningbrough's beetroots

Fantastically healthy, fabulously coloured and packed with wonderful flavour. There’s a lot to get excited about with beetroot. Read on to find out how best to grow them and a tasty idea of what to bake with the harvest.

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