Visit the gardens at Dyffryn

Helios at Dyffryn Gardens

See the sun like never before. Helios is a new illuminated seven-metre spherical sculpture by British artist Luke Jerram. Experience Helios at Dyffryn Gardens 23-26 May and 29 May-1 June. With rippling lights, solar imagery and sounds of the sun recorded by NASA, this is a wonderful opportunity to see this audio-visual wonder on display outdoors.

Dyffryn opening hours will be affected by Helios, and while the artwork will be on display for both the weekends of the May half term, it won’t be up for two days in the middle of the half term (Tuesday 27 May and Wednesday 28 May). There will also be lots of programming around Helios, including performances, trails, relaxed hour, creative kits and late-night opening. Please see our dedicated Helios page for all the most up-to-date information.

Summer highlights

In the summer Dyffryn Gardens is full of fragrance and colour. Everywhere you look you will see plants in full bloom. The bedding displays are at their height in July, especially the South Front and Paved Court and the Herbaceous Border gives long lasting colour and interest throughout the summer.

The Arboretum becomes a shade-dappled forest of calm. Last year we reopened two restored sections of the Arboretum which had been overtaken by pervasive weeds and bamboo. There is now a peaceful glade with interesting trees where you can dwell at your leisure. Then follow the meandering path through the Arboretum's meadow, designed as a wandering route amongst the wild orchids.

The gardens act as a summer sanctuary for many bird species including swifts, swallows and house martins. Greenfinches have also been nesting here for the last couple of years so keep an ear out for their song. Dyffryn is also a summer haven for pollinators and our gardens support more than 50 species of bees which you can find foraging in beds and borders all around the garden.

Later in the summer our signature Dahlias will come into bloom along with late summer ginger lily displays, as well as a variety of plants blossoming in the Kitchen Gardens and Exotics Garden.

Mini Meadows

This is the fifth year of growing our two ‘mini meadows’ on the Great Lawn, either side of the central canal. After last year’s Edwardian swirls (inspired by details from the newly restored house façade), this years’ meadow will take the form of sunbeams, shooting out from the central sundial.

We grow the meadows to increase the diversity of pollinators and insects as well as limit compaction on the South Lawn so that waxcaps can thrive in the autumn. The increase in pollinators and insects then encourages predators like dragonflies. The dragonflies mingle with the damselflies over the water features, home to water lilies and other aquatic plants and their flitting displays are truly spectacular. We also have several other areas of meadow which were established in 2019 - we now have bee orchids (a beautiful species of wild orchid) flowering in May and June flourishing in our meadow spaces.

Art in the Garden

From 20 June-18 July the gardens will become home to unique pieces of specially designed interactive outdoor art. They're completely unique and built for Dyffryn Gardens by artist, Alison Neighbour. 20th Century artist, Edith Adie visited Dyffryn in the 1920s and painted several watercolours of the gardens which have been invaluable resources to the conservation and restoration work we’re undertaking today. Facsimiles of these paintings will be in place so you can compare the landscape now with what Edith Adie would've seen a century ago.

Simply enjoy strolling through and around the art or go a step further and either pick-up a free-to-borrow creative kit from the Welcome Centre (containing watercolour paints, paper and other craft materials) or bring your own art supplies with you. Find out more here.