Explore the garden at Gibside

The Walled Garden gate bordered by apple trees — Summer in the Walled Garden at Gibside | © National Trust Images/Joe Cornish

Experience nature and history together in a landscape garden shaped by wildlife‑rich woodland trails and a vibrant Walled Garden filled.

Discover new things to see and do across Gibside’s gardens and woodland as the seasons change. The following areas guide you through each area in more depth, helping you plan your visit and explore the estate your way.

The garden, section by section

At its heart is the spiral galaxy bed, a sweeping design inspired by Mary Eleanor Bowes’ passion for science.

Along the walls, heritage fruit trees are trained into elegant espaliers. The apple trees aren’t original, but they stand exactly where their predecessors once grew, continuing a long tradition of productive gardening.

The vegetable beds celebrate sustainable gardening. Our team uses organic methods such as companion planting, composting and no‑dig beds to support biodiversity and reduce water use. It’s a living example of how historic gardens can adapt to modern environmental challenges.

Traces of the past are still visible. The footprint of the old glasshouse hints at the garden’s Georgian role as a working kitchen garden, once complete with a vineyard and fish pond. Everything grown here had a purpose, supplying fruit and vegetables for the household table.

In late summer, the Pictorial Meadow becomes a showstopper and modern pineapple sculptures nod to the lavish banquets once held at Gibside.

Around the café, the herbaceous borders change constantly, offering fresh colour and structure throughout the year. Together, these features make the Walled Garden a vibrant, ever‑evolving space for gardeners to explore.
The Orangery was once Mary Eleanor Bowes’ botanical playground. Inside featured exotic species and these days, you’ll spot plants like Chilean glory vine, crown imperials, and African daisies. One of Mary Eleanor’s commissioned plant hunters even travelled to South Africa in search of rare specimens for Gibside. During his return, Mary Eleanor was imprisoned in Gibside Hall by her abusive husband and he was never paid.

Flanking the Orangery is the Shrubbery. It’s believed the laburnum and possibly even the rhododendron ‘Cynthia’ may have been planted by Mary Eleanor herself.

Look out across the meadow known as the Paddock. When the grass is cut, you can see the bowl‑shaped outline of an ornamental pond. When investigated in the 1990s, old pipework was uncovered, possibly once feeding a fountain.

Follow the path towards Ice House Dene and you’ll notice the Victorian fern craze alive in the understorey. These ferns were planted deliberately, a small nod to Gibside’s later history. The lime‑rich soil they thrive in shows evidence of the estate’s industrial geology.
The Lily Pond and Octagon Pond are some of the quietest wildlife havens on the estate, especially rich in amphibians through spring and early summer.

The Octagon Pond was originally inspired by the grand water features at Stowe, which George Bowes visited while planning Gibside. Designed with three Italian‑style terraces and once adorned with statues and a central fountain, it would have been a striking focal point in the eighteenth‑century landscape. Over time, natural earth movements, encroaching vegetation and the protection of the species that now call it home have softened its shape.
Gibside’s wider estate is full of seasonal surprises. In spring, English bluebells carpet the original entrance route in a haze of violet, while wildflower meadows burst into colour later in the year. The estate’s daffodils include heritage varieties linked to a romantic story: bulbs believed to have been gifted by Sarah Hussey Delaval of Seaton Delaval Hall to John Bowes. Hidden in one quiet corner grows a curious patch of monkshood (clearly planted, not wild) a plant once used to poison arrows and known historically as “wolfsbane.”

Among the trees, look out for the giant redwood Sequoiadendron giganteum, an impressive reminder of Victorian plant‑collecting. Although enormous in scale, the redwoods at Gibside are still youngsters compared to their thousand‑year‑old Californian relatives. One particularly striking specimen stands beyond the Avenue on the way up to the Stables, where if you look closely at its bark, you may spot tiny circular holes made by treecreepers as they climb in search of insects.

In the right season, the woodland becomes a treasure trove of fungi. Scarlet elf cups glow like jewels on damp logs, while milkcaps, wood blewits, waxcaps, oyster mushrooms and shaggy inkcaps appear across the estate. More unusual species like witches’ butter, King Alfred’s cakes and even slime moulds add to the sense of discovery.
Gibside’s pleasure ground or landscape garden was created in the Georgian era, when landscaped estates were places to stroll, socialise and show off taste and ambition. George Bowes’ plans were bold, but built slowly over three decades, funded only from the estate’s income. He began planting on a grand scale in 1729, later commissioning designer Stephen Switzer to help shape the layout.

The oak‑lined Avenue didn’t have oaks in George’s lifetime. Those came later. And it’s believed one of Bowes favourite pastimes was racing his horses along it. Nearby, Green Close field, now a place for families to picnic and play, was once Mary Eleanor’s very first garden, gifted to her as a child and sparking the botanical passion that shaped so much of Gibside.

Beyond the formal spaces, the estate opens into ancient woodland, now protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. One of the clues to its age is the presence of lemon slugs, a species that thrives only in long‑established woodland. The valley below offers sweeping views, though the rows of trees you see today were planted after the Second World War to address a national timber shortage, giving the landscape a slightly more structured feel than in George’s time.

Across the estate, traces of Gibside’s layered history remain: the bath house tucked into the woods, the drift mines and brick kilns of its industrial past, and Ice House Dene, where an eighteenth‑century ice house or early “refrigerator” still survives if you know where to look.

A history of the Georgian landscape garden

Gibside is an early example of a Georgian landscape garden, shaped by the natural movement, which shifted design from strict formality to a more organic, flowing style. While features like the tree-lined Avenue retain symmetry, Gibside embraces naturalistic principles, inspired by Stephen Switzer, who championed gardens that blended into the countryside.

This design philosophy was influenced by Whig politics and classical art. Whig politics promoted liberty and progress, while classical art emphasized harmony and proportion. Together, they shaped landscapes that felt open and free, with dramatic viewpoints and balance.

At Gibside, these influences are woven into both architecture and design. The Chapel, by James Paine, showcases Palladian symmetry, while the Column to Liberty stands as a tribute to Whig ideals.

This controlled illusion extends throughout the landscape. Paths wind through a canopy of dense foliage, then break open to reveal sunlight over sweeping vistas. The garden’s rugged charm feels open and wild, yet it’s carefully curated, and trees are clustered to mimic forests. There’s a fascinating irony at play in Georgian landscape gardens, there’s a tension between nature and artistry, it’s nature as a stage, designed to impress rather than exist entirely on its own terms.

Today, the National Trust is working to balance the restoration of these designed landscapes with the needs of nature. Conservation efforts don’t just focus on preserving historical aesthetics, but on creating spaces where wildlife can thrive alongside history. The Octagon Pond, for example, once a defined geometric shape, remains a grand focal point, but is now a biodiverse ecosystem - a haven for newts and pondlife.

The garden through the seasons

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Volunteers tending the summer borders in Gibside Walled Garden — The Walled Garden borders in summer | © National Trust Images

Early summer

The Walled Garden ripens with strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and blackcurrants. The garden showcases a display of sweet peas, poppies, towering cardoons, and globe thistles filling the borders and vegetable beds. Fragrant white philadelphus blooms in the shrubbery, while hardy geraniums and roses are threaded through the garden. In the meadows, find wildflowers like the selfheal, a plant once believed to have magical properties, making it a staple in folk medicine and a supposed defence against sorcery.

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Pictorial meadow showcasing brightly coloured summer blooms — Pictorial summer meadow bringing colour and pollinators to the garden | © National Trust Images/Tony Blackett

Late summer

As summer progresses, the gardens grow richer, with Penstemons, Scabious, Rudbeckia, and Echinacea adding bursts of colour, while pictorial meadow creates a rainbow of poppies, cosmos, and cornflowers. Orangery hosts fiery blooms of kniphofia and crocosmia, standing against the deep blues of agapanthus and buddleia. The veg borders overflow with courgettes, beans, and beetroot, while the fruit beds ripen with loganberries and gooseberries, and the wider estate flourishes with wild flora like betony, red campion, and wild orchids.

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Sunflowers with a red brick wall in the background. — Sunflowers in the Walled Garden at Gibside. | © Photo Credit * National Trust Images/Tom Carr

Early autumn

Once a thriving Georgian kitchen garden, Gibside’s Walled Garden still brims with autumn produce. Pumpkins in many varieties sit alongside squash, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, sweetcorn, beans, raspberries and plums. A display of sunflowers lifts the borders, while the medlar fruit in the shrubbery remains a rare English sight, long known across Europe for its famously “cheeky” appearance.

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Fly agaric fungi at Emmetts Garden in Kent, with a red domed top spotted with white, and a white stem. — Fungi in the woodland | © National Trust Images/Nick Dougan

Late autumn

The last nasturtiums linger, asters brighten the borders and autumn crocus appear as the days cool. The landscape soon shifts to bronze, the full spectrum of autumn colour making the oak lined Avenue one of the best places for photography, with fallen conkers scattered across the Market Place. Berries follow, from rosehips to the glowing clusters of guelder rose. As temperatures drop, fungi thrive, from puffballs releasing clouds of spores to the unmistakable scent of stinkhorns.

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Snowdrops in garden, Kedleston Hall, Derby — Snowdrop carpet and crocus | © NTI

Late winter

Late winter strips the landscape back to its purest form, revealing Gibside’s symmetry and scale with the evergreens framing vistas. By January and February, snowdrops gather around the Chapel and spill towards the lawn, and early iris begin to bloom. Hazel catkins dangle overhead, winter aconites brighten the ground and the first blossom appears on espalliered apricot trees, a clear sign that spring is on its way.

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Tulips in the Walled Garden at Gibside | © National Trust Images/Tony Blackett

Early spring

Early spring transforms Gibside week by week as new colour unfolds across the gardens and woodland. The last of the daffodils linked to Sarah Hussey Delaval’s romantic story brighten the paths, alongside many new varieties, while scilla, muscari, iris and crocus paint the landscape in blue. In the Orangery, deep orange crown imperials stand out against the cool tones beyond. Seed sowing fills the greenhouses and rhubarb returns to the donation stand. By April, the Walled Garden is wrapped in blossom from apple, apricot, peach, nectarine, pear, plum and acid cherry trees, with blackthorn flowers whitening the hedgerows across the wider estate.

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Bluebells and wild garlic | © National Trust Images/Tony Blackett

Late spring

Late spring is when Gibside reaches full vibrancy. Wild garlic carpets the woodland behind Gibside Hall ruins, while English bluebells, forget me nots and wood sorrel bloom in the glades. Cowslips, oxeye daisies and wild orchids appear on grassy banks, and fungi such as dryads saddle and chicken of the woods thrive in shaded spots. In the Walled Garden, towering alliums, yellow iris and tulips structure the beds and rhubarb is ready for visitors to take home from the donation stand. The season’s harvest brings spinach, mustard leaves, broad beans, purple sprouting broccoli, radishes and mint varieties. Beyond the garden, the golden laburnum arch by the Orangery creates a striking frame for the shrubbery, sweet scented lilac fills the air, and deep purple rhododendrons colour the wider estate.

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The Spiral Galaxy bed: Inspiration and design

The spiral galaxy bed reflects Mary Eleanor’s passion for science. The theme draws on the rapid developments in astronomy in the late eighteenth century, when Mary Eleanor was a prominent member of the scientific community.

Inspired by the dynamic motion of galaxies, the design creates a dramatic visual impact and encourages movement, both within the bed itself and as visitors circulate around it. An immersive feature in the Walled Garden, it invites exploration while weaving science into the landscape, fusing history and beauty together.

Movement is woven into the spiral galaxy bed through carefully placed plants and evolving patterns. As the seasons shift, new plants emerge, subtly altering the spiral’s form, while the varying heights, textures and structures create a natural rhythm that draws the eye. This ever changing display keeps the garden feeling alive, inviting visitors to experience its motion in both space and time.

The design centres on a white core using geranium, blurring to yellow with inula, phlomis and deschampsia, then swirling into brown from actea and pink penstemon. The galaxy is punctuated with alliums from summer drummer to schubertii, and working outwards there are explosions of liatris and blue eryngium.