Explore the garden at Lyme

Visitors in the Rose Garden, Lyme Park, Cheshire. | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

The historic garden at Lyme offers variation throughout the seasons so it’s always a good time to visit. Nestled on the edge of the Peak District, Lyme's garden is the second highest in the National Trust which means flowers often bloom later and last longer at Lyme.

A garden for all seasons

Visiting the garden at Lyme is an ever changing experience and no two visits are the same. Under the care of Head Gardener Stefan with the garden team, the garden transforms seasonally with no two scheme exactly the same.

Autumn Watch in Vicary Gibbs

The trees in Lyme's gardens really come into their own once autumn sets in. The Vicary Gibbs area contains several exotic trees brought to Lyme by famed horticulturist Vicary Gibbs in the early 1900s. Look out for fiery reds from the dogwood tree (cornus kousa), as well as the flowering cherry.

Close to the Italian garden, the leaves of the spindle trees will start to turn a distinctive shade of pink as the season progresses.

Flowers in bloom in the herbaceous borders at Lyme, Cheshire | © National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

Late flowering interest

Italian Garden

Designed to be viewed from above, the Italian Garden took its present form from the 1st Lord Newton. The Irish ivy and edging box offers visual interest in Autumn, often maintaining colour until late September early October.

Herbaceous borders

Past the Rose Garden are double borders containing perennial plants and shrubbery offering lots of late flowering interest until the first frost. Developed in the 1920s by the 3rd Lady Newton, todays scheme incorporates some of her original plants.

A wicker box with wine, crisps, sandwiches, cakes, cutlery and plates inside. — Pick up a picnic box at Lyme and we'll do all the hard work for you | © The Manc

Pick up a pre-made picnic at Lyme

Take all the hassle out of a picnic at Lyme with a Garden Picnic Box. Whether you're travelling light on public transport or looking for a special treat, all you need to do is order a box from 10am -4pm in the Servants' Hall and drop it back when you're finished, no preparation or washing up needed.

The garden picnic is priced at £18 per person and includes the following for each person:

Your choice of sandwich or cold picnic pasty from the chiller
Your choice of a bag of crisps, pop chips, or popcorn
A scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream or butter if you prefer
Your choice of a piece of cake or a traybake from the counter
A large hot drink of your choice. Soya and oat milk alternatives available
A can of water

Plus, the use of a picnic basket and a coolbag, a waterproof backed picnic rug, cutlery, napkins, plates, and returnable cups so that. Just collect the picnic and when you have finished in the garden, drop it back to us and we'll do the hard bit.

Family fun in the garden

Follow the winding paths to dicover what's growing in the garden this season. There are lots of buggy-friendly paths in the garden – ask at the Ticket Office for more information.

'50 things to do before you're 11 3/4'

You can complete many of the '50 things' in the garden at Lyme. Here's some of our favourites -

No. 1 Get to know a tree - with the changing Autumn colours, head to the Top Lawn to find your favourite tree
No. 6 Go welly wandering - pull on your wellington boots and explore. Splash around in puddles, squelch through some mud.
No. 15 - Eat a picnic in the wild - before you set off, it’s time to raid the fridge. It’s amazing what you can create with just a few ingredients. Sandwiches, salads, pasta and fruit all make for a tasty lunch – and they’re easy to carry too.

More family fun this way