Coleton Fishacre garden

Cherry blossom trees in bloom at Coleton Fishacre, Devon — Cherry blossom trees in bloom on Seemly Terrace

With a climate as mild as South Cornwall created by the great trees sheltering this garden in a coastal valley, exotic and tender plants thrive in Coleton Fishacre garden. From formal terraces to woodland to explore, this garden is varied and filled with year-round interest, and one of the few National Trust gardens to be RHS accredited.

Blossom Watch

With the arrival of warmer spring days comes the extravagant display of Japanese cherry blossoms on Seemly Terrace. Whether you take a wander under the blossom or sit still and admire it for a moment, nature is a source of comfort for many. Join us on 23 April 2022 when we'll be asking you to share your pictures of beautiful blossom on social media as we celebrate #BlossomWatch.

Formal terraces

The Hot Border

In front of the house the Hot Border is filled with flowers in fiery shades of reds and oranges, creating a ‘firework’ effect of upward pointing flowers in hot colours, which blaze all the way from summer through to late autumn. These were Rupert D'Oyly Carte's favourite colours, and he could see the border from his desk in the library.

Rill Garden

The stream, or rill, which runs through the centre, gives this garden its name. The borders are planted with a mixture of hardy herbaceous and semi-tender perennials in soft pastel shades to create a relaxed and dreamy effect. Pastels were the favourite colours of Lady Dorothy, and her room overlooked this garden.

Coleton Fishacre Devon

Second-hand bookshop

Nestled amongst the RHS accredited garden is Seemly Hut, the second-hand bookshop at Coleton Fishacre. It's a nature lover's paradise, dedicated to all things outdoors. From pre-loved gardening books, maps, walking books, planting lists and inspirational archive images from the 1920's, if you love the outdoors there'll be a book for you. All the proceeds from the bookshop go towards looking after Coleton Fishacre for everyone, for ever. If you have any books you'd like to donate, we'd love to have them.

The Terraces

The terraces and walls around the house reflect the lines of the building, and are planted with tender, sun-loving plants. Each terrace has a pool; the upper pool's rounded outline sets off a sculptured otter by local artist Bridget McCrum.

The quarry

The looming quarry wall that sits below the gazebo is where the stone for the house came from; it was transported up the valley on a railway track, which you can now see in the kitchen supporting the shelves.

Coastal woodland garden

View from the gazebo at Coleton Fishacre, Devon

Sea views

There are a few different spots around the garden from where you can soak up the sea views. Scout Point, the gazebo and the summerhouse all offer wide sweeping vistas.

Informal garden

The further down the valley you walk, the more informal this garden becomes. At the bottom is the tree fern glade, where hydrangeas flower in the summer and the rill trickles out to the coast. There's also a gate leading to the South West Coast Path, where you can take in the view at Pudcombe Cove and spot the old tidal pool the family just to use.

The view of the Mewstone from the top of Coleton Fishacre garden

125th anniversary trail

This accessible walk in Coleton Fishacre garden takes in the best of everything - viewpoints of the terraced gardens, woodland paths and stretching sea views.