Spring in the garden

The garden will be really getting into its stride at this time of year, with fresh blooms and colour popping up everywhere.  

Daffodils and blossom 

Spot numerous varieties of Narcissi, with their white or pale outer petals and a shallow orange or yellow cup in the centre, in the Stumpery and along the Spring Walk. More of these cheerful blooms will carpet the Orchard and Wildflower bank. The pink, heavenly scented flowers of Daphne can also be seen on the Spring Walk. 

Early flowering Japanese Apricot (Prunus mume Beni-chidori) can be found in the Rock Garden – this starts flowering in late February and the flowers are bright pink and almond scented. This is followed by the Magnolia in the South Garden in April, the Japanese cherry (Prunus shirote) at the entrance to the Stumpery with its fragrant white cup-shaped flowers, and the pale pink flowers of Prunus Kojo-no-mai on the Spring Walk.

Trained pears blossom on the Fruit Wall along with tulips on the Fountain Bed, along the Fruit Wall. In May, as you enter the Stumpery, you can’t miss the spectacular Hawthorn covered in white flowers. Later in the month the orchard will be filled with clouds of pink & white apple blossom.

Birds, bees and frogs 

The garden is managed with wildlife at its forefront; if you visit when we open in the morning, the Rock Garden is full of birdsong at this time of year, and newts will be waking up in the rock pools as the weather warms up.

Keep an eye out for frogspawn and tadpoles in the Mirror Lake in April and May.

Solitary bees buzz along the wildflower bank and the honeybees, which live in hives in the orchard, will be collecting nectar on warmer days. You might even spot a kingfisher on the Dipping Pond if you’re lucky. 

We want to make sure that Sizergh is accessible for all. That's why we commissioned dedicated videos, in BSL, subtitled and audio described formats, to give you an idea of what your visit might look like. Below are the garden videos. 

Guided walk with a gardener

From May - October, join a gardener on the first Wednesday of each month to take in the key areas of the garden, hear about what the gardeners have been up to, and discover what's planned for the month ahead.

The Rock Garden

The Rock Garden was created in the early 20th century and originally planted with acers, conifers and herbaceous perennials. Later on, the garden was further developed and more ferns added. In fact, the garden is home to four national collections of ferns, which can be found in the Stumpery, Rock Garden, Kitchen Garden and orchard. 

We recommend viewing the Rock Garden from the bench under the Scots Pine with a cup of coffee. This ancient giant will keep you dry during a light shower or shaded from the sun on a hot day. The mature acers, with their delicately shaped leaves, are another highlight, with their magnificent purple foliage in spring and summer which turns to fiery red and orange in autumn.

The Stumpery 

The Stumpery opened in 2016 and every spring more than a dozen varieties of miniature daffodils complement the fresh green unfurling fronds of the ferns. 

The orchard

You'll find over 65 varieties of apple tree in the orchard, including many northern varieties - experience the cloud like blossom in spring, the carpet of wild meadow under the trees in summer, and ripe fruit in early autumn.  Harvesting begins in August and continues until the end of October, and the harvest is used in the café or offered to visitors to take home in exchange for a small donation. Surplus fruit and vegetables are donated to Waste into Wellbeing, a local charity that provides meals for the community. 

Fresh produce in the Kitchen Garden

Many of the vegetables and flowers you see in the Kitchen Garden started life in the greenhouse; there’s always a variety of seedlings in there at any one time. The ethos of self-sufficiency has always been important to the Strickland family and continues to be so to this day. The combinations of vegetables and flowers are not only productive, but also beautiful, culminating in a colourful display. Just as the Stricklands would have grown fruit and vegetables to be used in their kitchen, today’s produce is supplied directly to the café on a daily basis.