The garden at Nunnington Hall

A peacock at Nunnington Hall walking through the tulips in the garden — Enjoy exploring Nunnington Hall's organic gardens this spring | © John Millar

The organic gardens at Nunnington Hall are the perfect place to enjoy some peace and quiet. Peaceful hidden spots, colourful peacocks and colourful flowers offer a great day out.

The garden in spring

Our wildflower meadows surround our orchards, which produce beautiful blossom each spring. The Wild Cherries on the riverside will produce the first garden blossom, followed by the French pears on the south wall of the hall, which will bloom in mid-April, followed by the stunning Amelanchier. Finally, the long-awaited orchard blossom of apple, pear and ornamental Cherries will appear in late April and will carry on into Magic May.

Terrace mixed borders (herbaceous) and Lime Avenue (shrubs)

Early in spring we mulch the borders with our garden compost which has been made from the green waste we generated from the garden. The last of the snowdrops give way to daffodils, Leucojum, Scilla and Muscari and the new growth of herbaceous plants starts to grow. Spring is a good time to divide clump forming herbaceous perennials such as heuchera and geraniums. Early in spring the strongly scented winter flowering Sarcococca are pruned back, as are the white stems of Rubus cockburnianus.

Orchard

After a winter prune, the apples and pears will soon burst into life with spring blossom, vital for early pollinators such as the red mason bee and emerging queen bumble bees. Beneath the blossom of our orchards, the wildflower meadows will start to spring to life with cowslips, primulas, daffodils and snakeshead fritillaries.

The Lawns

With the warmer weather returning, the lawns can be mown, cutting high at first and then reducing the height of the grass as the season progresses. These lawns provide a great place for visitors to play croquet or to relax in a deck chair and feel the warmth of the spring sun on their faces.

Rose Borders

We replaced some of the older roses in late 2024, so we are looking forward to even better displays in the years to come. In anticipation of another good rose year, we will be pruning them through the month of February, and the beds will be mulched with well-rotted horse manure and compost. Throughout the season we will continue to regularly dead-head the roses to keep them blooming through the summer.

Spring Blossom

Our wildflower meadows surround our orchards, which produce beautiful blossom each spring. The Wild Cherries on the river side will produce the first garden blossom, followed by the French pears on the south side of the hall, which will bloom in mid-April, followed by the stunning Amelanchier. Finally, the long-awaited orchard blossom of apple and ornamental Cherries will appear in late April and will carry on into Magic May.

Front of Nunnington Hall from the garden during spring — Enjoy the beautiful garden at Nunnington Hall this spring | © Annapurna Mellor

Nature and wildlife

There is always nature and wildlife to be seen in the gardens of Nunnington Hall for the observant visitors. Spring will see the queen bumble bees emerging form hibernation and they will be bumbling around the meadows looking for new nesting sites to start their new families. The solitary bees, such as the red mason bees, in our observation boxes will be starting to emerge and helping us with the pollination of our fruit trees. The birds will be singing to each other as they search the garden for nest sites. Otters and kingfishers will be patrolling along the river, so always worth stopping on our footbridge to look out for these special creatures.

The popular annual event of ‘Nature at Nunnington’ takes place in May, with lots of family activities throughout the day, including bug hunting and talks and tours by our gardeners. There will also be opportunity to speak to local nature and environment-focused partners who we work with.

Redesigning the Iris Garden

A new project is underway at Nunnington Hall to reimagine the Iris Garden, one of the few historical gardens remaining at the property

To discover more, visit the dedicated web page on the National Trust website and keep an eye on progress.

Iris Garden garden design concept visual — Development of the Iris Garden is an exciting new project at Nunnington. | © Kristina Clode

Living organically

The garden has been managed fully organically since 2002, reviving traditional horticultural methods while also embracing modern techniques and technology. You can see much of this work in practice as you explore the garden. This includes such things as a four-bay composting system, a wormery, fruit cages and an organic vegetable patch.

Each year sheep fleece is packed around the base of young fruit trees which acts as an organic mulch. Not only does it suppress the weed growth and help the soil to retain moisture, but slowly releases nutrients directly to the tree roots as the fleece decays. Additionally, the birds, mice and bumblebees enjoy the opportunity of collecting luxurious bedding for their nests.

Relax by the river

The garden sits alongside the River Rye which plays host to much wildlife. Spend a while by the river and you may just catch a glimpse of brown trout, otters, kingfishers and swans.