Visiting the garden at Plas Newydd

Cherry blossom tree with the House in the background — Blossom at Plas Newydd | © Paul Harris

The Grade I listed landscape at Plas Newydd, Anglesey, consists of 40 acres of garden and 129 acres of woodland and parkland. Here is just a small taste of what you can discover.

A garden on the shores of the Menai Strait

The mild conditions of the garden allow a wide range of plants to flourish, from rhododendrons and magnolias to rare southern hemisphere specimens in the Arboretum.

So much of what's special in the garden is in direct result of the setting and climate. Being nestled on the shores of the Menai Strait, with far reaching views out to the mountains of Snowdonia, it is most definitely a hard location to beat.

Beautiful borders

The Italianate Terraces and Sunroom Courtyard are full of colour from early spring to autumn. The stunning display of tulips in the borders in March are a sight to see, and with dahlias and salvias bringing the borders’ year to a close in October.

The Hot Border on the Terraces is a riot of reds, oranges and yellows, with the contrasting Cool Border opposite. The Sunroom Courtyard is filled with blues, pinks and whites, both from bulbs and perennials and remains attractive throughout the summer.

The West Indies

Here you'll find expansive lawns dotted with large specimen trees, beautiful magnolias, many hydrangeas, as well as Japanese maples that colour handsomely in the autumn.

Spring highlights at Plas Newydd

There is Spring colour throughout the garden at Plas Newydd, from the sheltered and peaceful Rhododendron Garden at its northern end, to the bluebells of Church Bank Wood at its south.

The season comes early, with rhododendrons flowering during mild weather in early March in the West Indies, followed by our wonderful collection of magnolias throughout the garden. These range from tree species such as Magnolia campbellii in the Rhododendron Garden, with its mass of gorgeous pink blooms, to smaller varieties such as Magnolia stellata, the star magnolia, with its delicate white flowers.

Tulips

Rhododendrons are to be found in abundance, offering a blaze of colour for weeks. The Rhododendron Garden is at its peak in April and May, with a mass of flowers borne on shrubs large and small, in what is one of the most tranquil areas of the garden. The West Indies is also awash with blooms as our azaleas celebrate the season with a heady mix of oranges, pinks and reds.

Rhododendrons

On Dock Road spot winter flowering shrubs such as Hamamelis (witch hazel) blooming in pretty, yellow clusters, and the strongly scented pink flowers of the Bodnant viburnum. Meanwhile the conifers look beautiful in winter, especially the Japanese cedar with its reddish-bronze foliage below the terraces.

Spring bloom

Away from the formal gardens and flowering in March, the Arboretum is home to increasing numbers of native daffodils. We’ve completed our second year of planting, with 10,000 bulbs now growing, with more to follow in the coming years. Lastly, in April the woods that bookend the garden are home to thousands of beautiful bluebells, nodding gently beneath the trees before their leaves unfurl. What better accompaniment for the crescendo of birdsong that reaches its peak at this time of year.