Goodnestone Park Gardens

About the garden

Owned by

Lord FitzWalter

This diverse garden at Goodnestone Park is set around an 18th-century manor house. Formal areas with terraced lawns, shaped yews and box parterre can be found near the house, with views to the surrounding parkland. A series of stone steps and yew hedges lead visitors from the house to a lime avenue and adjoining arboretum.

Many acid-loving loving plants can be found in the nearby woodland garden. One of the garden's most well-known features, the walled garden, consists of three walled enclosures connected by a central lawn, with views to the village's 12th-century church. A holly walk and a second tree-lined avenue run parallel to the walled garden and in the west lies a second arboretum.

In early spring flowering starts with drifts of snowdrops, accompanied by early-flowering Daphne, Sarcococca, Hamamelis, and Mahonia. Later the woodland is carpeted with wild garlic and bluebells with the odd Erythronium and Trillium. In the walled garden, peonies and roses are the first flowers to take centre stage followed by a succession of flowering right through into autumn.

In addition to the many extensive borders, visitors can enjoy sitting on the exotic jungle patio, wandering through the greenhouse dedicated to the growing of cacti and succulents or trying produce from the no-dig vegetable and herb garden in The Old Dairy Café. Wildflower meadows and areas of long grass, accessible via mown paths are found throughout the garden.

Dead hedges, bird boxes, solitary bee banks, and ponds managed for amphibians help diversify the garden's native flora and fauna. Plants of interest include mature specimens of Abelia triflora, Nothofagus fusca and Magnolia grandiflora. Venerable old trees, including Cedrus libani (cedars Lebanon), can be found in the gardens and surrounding estate.

Please note: this is a partially accessible garden.