The garden at Polesden Lacey

Published:: 05 June 2025

The garden at Polesden Lacey has something to offer in every season from glorious sunny spots to secluded areas to seek shade on a hot day. Enjoy the sight of the rose garden in bloom, and the lavender garden and herbaceous borders bursting into glorious summer colour. Our team is working hard to take the garden to new heights and ensure there is always something beautiful to enjoy.

The Rose Garden

Roses hold a special place in the history of Polesden Lacey, not least within the tranquil and sweetly scented Edwardian walled garden. In the central beds, hybrid teas and modern bush roses mingle with floribundas and hybrid musks. Numerous rambling and climbing roses clothe the pergola and walls. The outer borders are also home to many wonderful old roses and species roses.

The bees' favourite spot

In summer, the air in the Lavender Garden is heavy with the familiar and calming aroma of various varieties of lavender. The garden team worked on replanting the Lavender Garden last summer with an exciting new planting scheme. The bees cannot resist it, and buzz around it from June to August.

Visitors walking along double herbaceous border in summer. — Visitors walking along the double herbaceous borders on a summers day. | © Chris Lacey

A garden to enjoy in every season

Formal garden rooms: a summer garden highlight: To the west of the Rose Garden, you’ll find three seasonal garden rooms. As well as the Lavender Garden, the Iris Garden and Peony Borders provide stunning displays from summer through to the beginning of autumn. We have worked hard to restore the condition of these key areas of the garden, including forking grit into the soil to try and improve drainage.
Herbaceous borders: Polesden Lacey's garden is home to some of the finest double herbaceous borders in England. They burst with colour in summer, with imaginative seasonal planting that is complemented perfectly by the beautiful, historical walls. We don’t use herbicides or pesticides in our gardening, as we look to support nature. We do our best to keep out the weeds, smothering them with mulch as much as possible. The local rabbits are harder to keep at bay, and you may see signs of their presence in this area. We also water only new or tender plants and will continue to adjust the herbaceous border planting scheme to support this.
Production Garden: The Production Garden provides produce for the Polesden Lacey café kitchen throughout the summer, from peas to potatoes and raspberries to rhubarb. We also grow and provide cut flowers for inside the house and visitor reception. Our fruit and veg experts tend to the cold frames, herb beds and recently introduced fruit cage, designed to mirror the outline of the nearby Gardener’s Cottage. We have some exciting plans to renovate this area in the coming years with fencing, cold frames and paths all due for replacement.
House borders: There are borders on all sides of the house. Due to a recent major house render renovation project, we had to remove some of the plants from the borders at the front of the house. The original climbing wires were failing in several places and some of the climbers were overgrown and not in the best health. The delicate wisteria and vibrant orange pyracantha remain, as these were both planted during Margaret Greville’s time. You can expect to see them return to their full glory in a couple of years’ time. In the meantime, our garden team are working on a new planting scheme to incorporate a variety of striking plants that will be in bloom throughout the year no matter what month you visit Polesden Lacey. There are also plans to start restoring the South Terrace house border later on this year to return the bed to the original colour scheme as it would have been in Mrs Greville’s time. You’ll have to pay us a visit to find out which, but by incorporating a mixture of shrubs, climbers, perennials and bulbs it is bound to be a dazzling display of which Mrs Greville would be proud.
The Long Walk: The only formal element of the garden to the east of the house, and probably the most historic part of the garden, this 450m-long terrace has stunning views across swathes of SSSI chalk grassland and on to Ranmore Common and the estate. It is flanked by the atmospheric, shaded Nun’s Walk to the north and connects with the Pinetum to the west. Extensive work has taken place over the winter months to restore the ancient yew hedges on either side, removing bindweed and brambles and creating accessible viewpoints for everyone to enjoy.
Croquet Lawns in the summer: Polesden Lacey has always been a place for recreation and play. The tennis court and golf course of its Edwardian heyday have now been replaced with four neatly manicured croquet lawn pitches. Mostly used by local clubs during the week, they are available for public hire at weekends and bank holidays from the end of March through to the end of September. Please ask about availability at visitor reception.
The Ladies Garden: The final resting place for Margaret Greville, this area was her favourite place to sit during her time here. We've added several beautiful plants intended to pay a fitting floral tribute, such as the deep purple Salvia nemorosa, soft lilac Scabiosa ‘Blue Note’ and an impressive Allium called ‘Summer Drummer’, which reaches a height of around two metres. A couple of years ago, a large group of staff and volunteers also planted a large number of autumn and spring flowering crocuses.
Dog Graves: Although she had no children, Margaret Greville had plenty of dogs while at Polesden Lacey and all 17 are buried here, surrounded by a calming white planting scheme with beautiful forsythia adding splashes of colour later in the season. A wheelchair- and buggy-accessible path runs past this contemplative spot, linking Lime Walk with the West Lawn.

Planning your visit to the gardens at Polesden Lacey: The gardens are a true highlight of any visit to Polesden Lacey, especially during the summer when they burst into colourful life. Volunteer-run garden tours take in key areas of the garden on selected dates (ask at Visitor Reception on arrival for dates and times) and the gardening team are always happy to answer questions and talk about their work. Most parts of the formal gardens offer step-free access. Some paths are gravel, but most are smooth with some grass paths in certain areas. Wheelchairs, mobility scooters and all-terrain trikes are available to hire for easier access around the gardens and grounds. Benches are located at regular intervals, and there is plenty of space for picnics and ice-cream breaks on the way round. For visitors seeking a quieter spot, the Upper Sunken Garden offers tranquil surroundings, plenty of shade and is our dedicated Silent Space.