The garden at Kingston Lacy

With the arrival of spring, there are new discoveries every day in the garden at Kingston Lacy. Head for Nursery Wood to see azalea, camellia, and rhododendron, and be sure to find the Japanese Garden for its glorious cherry trees.

Seasonal highlights

Kingston Lacy's garden is perfect whether you want a gentle stroll in spring sunshine or a brisk walk in spring winds.

Along the Lime Avenue the snowdrops have given way to daffodils and, later, bluebells. Visit the Fernery to get up close and personal with the intricate green fronds now appearing, and South Lawn to appreciate the contrast of wide open vistas.

Stroll down Cedar Avenue and take in the beauty of the majestic and stately cedar trees. Many of these trees were cultivated from seeds brought from the slopes of Mount Lebanon in the early 1800s; the Bankes family also invited royal guests to plant a cedar tree to mark a visit.

Enjoy a stroll at Kingston Lacy in Dorset — Some of the trees along the majestic Cedar Avenue date back to the 1800s

Nursery Wood

Follow Lime Avenue and you’ll find the arboretum known as Nursery Wood. This area bursts into life during the spring and summer months, with a spectacular display of azalea, camellia and rhododendron. Autumn is a great time to see peeling bark on the paperbark maples.

The Hyde collection

Discover more about the unique Hyde collection of rhododendrons in the Nursery Wood.

Look out too for the delicate white and pale pink blossom of the winter flowering cherry, which appears throughout the winter to lift spirits.

The pale pink blossoms of a winter flowering cherry are silhouetted against a bright blue sky at Kingston Lacy — A winter flowering cherry lifts the spirits in January

Garden of the rising sun

Step foot in the far east as you explore this seven-acre Japanese garden which was created in the early 1900s. Follow Lady Walk and look out for bamboo plants, granite lanterns and an authentic Japanese tea house. Come in the spring for cherry tree blossom, autumn for flaming red Japanese maples, and winter for carpets of snowdrops.

Cherry blossom at Kingston Lacy

Cherry blossom is a sure sign that spring has arrived in the garden at Kingston Lacy. Nature's own confetti, nothing lifts the spirits quite like the simple beauty of pink or white petals adorning the cherry trees in the Japanese Garden in the springtime.

Snowdrops in the Japanese Garden at Kingston Lacy — Carpets of snowdrops in the Japanese Garden at Kingston Lacy

An ancient treasure

This ancient nine-metre-high obelisk casts a shadow over Kingston Lacy’s south lawn, a monument the adventures of William Bankes, the ‘explorer’. Amazingly, the six tonne obelisk took several years to be shipped from Egypt to England, and the Duke of Wellington chose its final location in the garden.

The Philae obelisk at Kingston Lacy in Dorset — The Philae obelisk in the garden at Kingston Lacy

Kitchen Garden

The Kitchen Garden has been closed for the past year, but has now reopened. With most garden staff furloughed and no volunteers, the restoration of this two-acre site was put on hold.

We're now working to get this part of the garden back to its best; the pigs are helping, working as rotivators on beds that have not been tilled for 12 months. Our garden team is revitalising beds with the No Dig system. New supports have gone up in the Vinery, so this year we will be able to train the grape vines properly.

It's a slow process and there's still a lot of work to do to restore the Kitchen Garden to its former glory; find out about our plans at the link below.

The vision for the restoration of the Kitchen Garden at Kingston Lacy

Kingston Lacy Kitchen Garden appeal

We've begun the Kitchen Garden project to conserve and restore this important part of the garden that once had a royal reputation. We have ambitious plans but we need your help to do it.

Find out more about our plans