Join us in midsummer to explore three large country gardens within a short walk of each other: The Plant Library of over 2,000 species of perennials and bulbs, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith’s Barn Garden and your last chance to visit Kate Stuart-Smith’s neighbouring Serge Hill Garden.
The Plant Library is a living catalogue of perennials and bulbs and this midsummer opening will showcase many of the 2000 species at their best including Echinacea, Phlox, Salvias, Kniphofia, Veronicastrum, Lillium, Thalictrum, Scabious, Phlomis, Nepeta, Lavatera, Agapanthus, Oenothera, Artemisia, Althea, Kitaebela, Helichrysum, Lobelia, Anthericum, Saponaria, Eryngium, Amorpha, a vast range of ornamental grasses and many, many more.
The Barn Garden includes an enclosed courtyard with corten water tanks, the west garden with large areas of herbaceous planting in a formal frame of yew and hornbeam hedges, the vegetable garden, meadow, wildlife pond and prairie. In high summer the garden has a irrepressible abundance of growth with a wide range of cultivated plants, including Sanguisorba, Persicaria, Dierama, Hemerocallis Digitalis, Asclepias, Macleaya, Liatris, Veronicastrum, as well as wildflowers and a wide variety of trees and shrubs. The grove of Genista aetnensis in the courtyard is generally in flower now
Open for the last time this year, Kate Stuart-Smith’s Serge Hill Garden is a romantic garden embracing a Regency house, with wonderful views over rolling parkland, the ha-ha ha and beyond and a walled kitchen garden bursting with orderly rows of produce, disorderly self-seeded annuals and perennials. The walls are crowded with climbers and shrubs.
Pop-up Plant stalls will be hosted by The Plant Library team and Sunnyside Rural Trust’s on-site Orchard Nursery, providing the opportunity to take home distinctive and unusual plants grown from The Plant Library stock.
All profits from ticket and refreshment sales goes directly to support the work of our not-for-profit, The Serge Hill Project for Gardening Creativity and Health, which provides therapeutic and educational programmes to local schools, charities and community groups most in need.
Tickets are limited to only 50 per garden visit, meaning you can enjoy the tranquility of the gardens with only a small number of other visitors.
Visitor Information
The gardens are open from 10am–1pm, and it usually takes around two hours to walk around The Barn Garden and The Plant Library. Please note that it is possible to pre-book tea, coffee and cake to enjoy during your visit.
Parking onsite is limited so please car-share or come by public transport wherever possible.
Please note this is a no smoking and no vaping site.
Accessibility
Accessible parking for those who require it is available directly outside The Apple House. There is step-free access to the building and all areas. However, there are many potential trip hazards and uneven surfaces that may be encountered whilst visiting the gardens, along with gravel paths that aren’t suitable for walking frames with wheels.
The gardens are extensive so there’s a lot of ground to cover. Please be aware that due to the ongoing building works around the Orchard, there may be additional hazards to look out for.
We have a mobility scooter available for use. If you would like to reserve it, please contact info@sergehillproject.co.uk