Daffodils

Starting in mid-April, Edwardian daffodils burst up from the ground, carpeting the orchard with shades of cream and yellow. We have 16 named cultivars of daffodils, one of which dates back to the 1600s.

Blossom at Acorn Bank

Later, in May, pale pink blossom unfurls from the trees above, and delicate snakes head fritillaries emerge.

Wildlife in the garden

Winging it

Every year, a nest of ducklings appears on top of the wall in the Sunken Garden - we’re still none the wiser as to how their mum gets them up and down from there. They gravitate towards the pond, before moving out to the beck in the woodland when they've grown a little.

In the pond

By April, the newts have begun to move from where they’ve been overwintering in the garden walls to the Sunken Garden pond. Acorn Bank is home to all three species of native newt; Great Crested, Smooth and Palmate.

Great Crested newts are particularly special as they’re a very scarce species in the UK. On a warm spring day as early as the start of March some can be seen, and by the middle of April as many as 50 can be spotted in the pond.

Butterflies, birds and bees

The 400-year-old garden walls have many nooks and crannies which are perfect for housing lots of wildlife - red admiral, tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies are the three species which shelter in the walls over the winter, and in May spotted flycatchers are back nesting in the garden walls.

Butterflies and bees come out to play in April and May with the garden flowers and apple blossom. The variety of trees and plants in the herb garden, ornamental garden, orchards and vegetable plots mean Acorn Bank is particularly diverse when it comes to the pollinators which can be found here. They appear in force in March and overwintering queen bees are the first to arrive – we have all seven common species of native bumblebees. Acorn Bank is also home to a recent addition - tree bumblebees were first recorded in Cumbria in 2010, and have moved to the UK because of climate change in Europe. Solitary bees start appearing as soon as we get a warm spell in March – by the end of May there will be over 20 different species.