Things to see in the garden at Beningbrough

Don't miss as you meander

The formal gardens

Sitting next to the Victorian conservatory, is the hot west formal and the perfect place to bed out the boldest and brightest colours twice a year, as was the fashion of the time. In contrast the east formal is a cool, scented space to watch the fish or sit for a while in the loggia surrounded by scent. The south lawn offers views to the parkland beyond and is framed on all sides by mature trees. With south facing seating, it's not hard to find a place to perch if you want a pause when you wander.

The winter corner

Beyond the hall, close to the wilderness play area is an area that comes to life as others sleep. Filled with mahonia, silver birch, viburnums, calicarpa and bare naked ladies - expect colour from bark, leaves, berries and shoots from autumn to spring. In spring you won't miss the scent from the sarcococca - known as sweet winter box, drawing you in to explore a little further.

The walled garden

A stroll around Beningbrough's walled garden will take you through the historic pear arch and under Beningbrough's own two varieties of grapevine in the remaining glasshouse. The number of fruit trees are in the hundreds and it keeps the team of volunteers busy all year round to optimise their growths for production. Alongside the fruit, a wide range of vegetables are cultivated using traditional methods in two acres of kitchen garden, first enclosed when the walls were built in 1792. Harvested produce is used in the restaurant adding to the flavours on the menu with surplus offered for donation through the outdoor shop.

What if it rains?

If there's one thing we can rely on, it's the Great British weather...and not just in winter. The garden has pockets of places to take shelter from a quick shower, alternatively, even if not part of your original plan, head into the hall, restaurant or shop if the rain is more prolongued.

• Borrow a brolly - ask the welcome team if you forgot to bring your own or buy a new one from the shop
• Take a seat under the south facing loggia in the East Formal Garden
• See what's growing in the glasshouse...the grapes have pips, just in case you're tempted!
• Mooch around the potting shed, try to figure out what some of the tools were for
• Imagine life as a laundry maid or reminisce about a time before machines did most of the washing
• Pick a new book from the secondhand book shelves in the library

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Top trees

When one of the garden team found out about the tree register, which keeps the records of 'champion trees' - the tallest or widest of each species, they felt sure that there would be some Yorkshire champions at Beningbrough...

The garden vision

The gardens at Beningbrough are no stranger to change, having been treated to redevelopment by its various masters and their differing tastes and the fashions of the time. The internationally acclaimed garden designer Andy Sturgeon has created a design that will be slowly introduced to enhance aspects of the landscape at Beningbrough.

Little detail is known about the specifics of the gardens of the past. Consequently, unlike many other National Trust properties the gardens cannot be tied to a certain era or design, allowing Andy and his team a certain amount of creative freedom to develop areas of the garden that some visitors may be less familiar with.