Bide-a-Wee Cottage Gardens

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’.