Bide-a-Wee Cottage Gardens
RHS Partner Garden
Free RHS Member days
12noon–4.30pm, Friday, 17 April–20 September
About the garden
The garden’s location is remarkable. A significant portion of the land is tucked away in a small, disused quarry site upon a 500ft ridge. The unique, two-acre site combines a landscape of rock and water, benefiting from enormous variations in aspect, topography and growing conditions. As a result, a variety of habitats can be found and a vast array of unusual plants thrive here.
The garden retains a historic identity, with nods to its former function visible throughout the garden. Natural rock walls are highlighted by evergreen conifers and contrasting hedging. A tearoom, offering home-baked cakes and scones, is located in a building that once served as a sawmill. The original quarry track is still in place, leading visitors to a pond in the shaded site that was once the quarry floor.
The garden is a National Plant Collection holder for Centaurea and specialises in unusual herbaceous perennials, including Cardiocrinum or ‘Giant Himalayan Lily’.
Facilities
- Plant sales
- Toilets
Key features
- Wildflower meadow
- Herbaceous border
- Pond or lake
- Cottage planting
- National Plant Collections
Get involved
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.