Explore the garden at Lyme

A view of Lyme house covered in snow. The house can be seen in the frozen reflection pond. — The house covered in snow at Lyme, Cheshire | © ©National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

The historical 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. Discover a garden full of autumn colour at Lyme. See golden Japanese maples, a herbaceous border full of texture, and exotic trees the Vicary Gibbs area.

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 often well into October. Developed in the 1920s by the 3rd Lady Newton, todays scheme incorporates some of her original plants.

Family fun in the garden

Follow the winding paths to dicover what's growing in the garden this season. Put on your wellies and splash through muddy puddles and let your imagination run wild in the play area on the West Terrace. 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 manu of the '50 things' in the garden at Lyme. Here's some of our favourites -

No. 1 Get to know a tree - head to the Top Lawn
No. 6 Go welly wandering - pull on your wellington boots and embark on an autumnal adventure. Splash around in puddles, squelch through some mud or crunch your way through fallen leaves on your next welly wander.
No. 31 Make friends with a bug -looking for bugs is fun, because some are so fast that you may need to chase them a little. Does your critter have fur, wings or many legs? Remember to put any creepy-crawlies back where you found them afterwards as they can be delicate and appreciating the home they’re already in.

Find out more family day out ideas at Lyme here