Raveningham Gardens

About the garden

Owned by

Sir Nicholas and Lady Susan Bacon

Owned by Sir Nicholas and Lady Bacon, Raveningham Gardens encapsulates 10 acres of classic country house gardens that surround the Grade II listed Raveningham Hall on the 5,500-acre Raveningham Estate. Visitors can enjoy superb herbaceous borders and a Victorian walled kitchen garden producing fruit and vegetables for the hall with glasshouses by Boulton and Paul, alongside the modern stumpery. Lady Bacon has established a herb garden and seasonal Time Garden inspired by Sir Francis Bacon's essay.       

The storm of 1987 provided an opportunity to plant an arboretum with design input from Roy Lancaster. To this has been added a newly-created stumpery with upturned stumps of uprooted trees, against which varieties of tree ferns are showcased. There is also a four-acre lake established to mark the Millennium with views across the 120-acre park. Sculptures by Susan Bacon can be seen around the gardens and there are walks through naturalised planting.       

In February the garden is filled with drifts of snowdrops, followed by spring bulbs and flowering shrubs. The summer brings large herbaceous borders that fill out and spill onto the paths. Swathes of agapanthus are in bloom towards the end of July when the walled garden is also at its best and full of seasonal fruit and vegetables.