DOZENS of secret gardens in Cheshire will be opening their gates this summer allowing visitors to enjoy the green open spaces filled with flowers.
The National Garden Scheme gives unique access to more than 3,500 private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, raising money for nursing and health charities.
This year, visitors can enjoy 19 gardens in Mid Cheshire with venues in Northwich, Delamere and Holmes Chapel as well as Knutsford, Winsford and Budworth.
Dozens more green and colourful spaces will be welcoming people across Cheshire, if you want to travel a little further afield for a day out.
Around £67million has been raised over the years for Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK and The Queen’s Nursing Institute, with £3.1million being donated last year thanks to the generosity of garden owners, volunteers and visitors.
Here are the 19 secret venues in Mid Cheshire open to visitors this summer followed by a list of the other Cheshire gardens opening this summer:
Bollin House, Hollies Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK 9 2BW
By arrangement
This garden has established deep borders full of perennials, a wildflower meadow and a new formal area with parterres and central water feature. The meadow, with its annual and perennial wildflower areas (with mown pathways and benches), attracts lots of bees, dragonflies and other insects and butterflies.
Bowmere Cottage, Bowmere Road, Tarporley, CW6 0BS
A colourful and relaxing one-acre country style garden around a Grade II listed house. The lawns are surrounded by well-stocked herbaceous and shrub borders and rose covered pergolas. There are two plant-filled courtyard gardens and a small vegetable garden. Shrubs and rambling roses, clematis, hardy geraniums and a wide range of hardy plants make this a very traditional English garden.
Admission: Adult £5 Child: Free
Somerford, 19 Leycester Road, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 8QR
Sunday, April 30, Friday, June 16 and Sunday, July 30
Majestic trees surround this one-and-a-half-acre garden. Hard landscaping and sculptures complement lush herbaceous and perennial borders. Lawns are separated by a magnificent oak pergola. Cube-headed hornbeams lead into the snail-trail walk and informal lawn and fernery.
Admission: Adult £4 Child: Free
Norley Court, Marsh Lane, Norley, Cheshire, WA6 8NY
Sunday, April 30
Norley Court is a large spring garden with rhododendrons, azaleas, pieris, a bluebell wood and embothyrium flowering against a backdrop of north Cheshire views. A variety of trees are planted along the banks, including cornus, a handkerchief tree, Judas trees, mountain ash trees and a strawberry tree.
Admission: Adult £6 Child: Free
Abbeywood Gardens, Chester Road, Delamere, Northwich, Cheshire, CW8 2HS
Sunday, May 14 and Sunday, September 17
A superb setting near Delamere Forest which totals 45 acres including mature woodland, new woodland and new arboretum all with connecting pathways. Approx 4.5 acres of gardens surround the large Edwardian house. There’s a vegetable garden, an exotic garden and a chapel garden as well as a pool garden, a woodland garden and a lawned area with beds.
Admission: Adult £6 Child: Free
Tiresford, Tarporley, Cheshire, CW6 9LY
Sunday, May 14
Established in the 1930s, this garden has had a major restoration project to reinstate it to its former glory. There are fabulous views of both Beeston and Peckforton Castles which offer a wonderful backdrop in which to relax and enjoy a delicious tea. This year, they are hoping to recreate the kitchen garden and to repair the fountain among the new hot borders of the sunken garden.
Admission: Adult £5 Child: Free
Stonyford Cottage, Stonyford Lane, Oakmere, Cheshire, CW8 2TF
Sunday, May 14
Set around a tranquil pool, this Monet-style landscape has a wealth of moisture loving plants, including iris and candelabra primulas. Drier areas feature unusual perennials and rarer trees and shrubs. Woodland paths meander through shade and bog plantings, along boarded walks and across wild natural areas with views over the pool to the cottage gardens. Unusual plants are available at the adjacent nursery.
Admission: Adult £5 Child: Free
The Old Parsonage, Back Lane, Arley Green, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 6LZ
Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21
This two-acre garden is set in an attractive and secretive rural setting in a secluded part of Arley Estate, with ancient yew hedges, herbaceous and mixed borders as well as shrub roses and climbers, leading to a woodland garden and unfenced pond with gunnera and water plants. There are rhododendrons, azaleas and meconopsis as well as cardiocrinum and some interesting and unusual trees.
Admission: Adult £6 Child: Free
Mayfield House, Moss Lane, Bunbury Heath, Tarporley, Cheshire, CW6 9SY
Sunday, May 21
A thoroughly English garden with a wealth of colour and variety throughout the year. A background of fine trees, defined areas bordered by mixed hedging, masses of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas and colourful shrubs. Clematis and wisteria festoon the walls in early summer. There is easy access and random seating areas. There’s a small lake with an island and broad lawns with glades of foxgloves.
Admission: Adult £5 Child: Free
Rowley House, Forty Acre Lane, Kermincham, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, CW4 8DX
Sunday, May 28 and Sunday, July 9
The aim is to give nature a home and create a place of beauty. There is a formal courtyard garden and informal gardens featuring rare trees and herbaceous borders, a pond with swamp cypress and a woodland walk with maples, rhododendrons, ferns and shade-loving plants. Beyond the garden, there are wildflower meadows, natural ponds and a wood with ancient oaks. There are also wood sculptures by Andy Burgess.
Admission: Adult £5 Child: Free
Peover Hall Gardens, Over Peover, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 9HW
Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11
The extensive formal gardens to Peover Hall feature a series of garden rooms filled with clipped box, water garden and Romanesque loggia as well as warm brick walls, unusual doors and secret passageways with beautiful topiary work and walled gardens, rockery, rhododendrons and pleached limes. Peover Hall, a Grade II* listed Elizabethan family house dates from 1585 and provides a fine backdrop.
Admission: Adult £7 Child: Free
Bucklow Farm, Pinfold Lane, Plumley, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 9RP
Sunday, June 11
This country garden has shrubs, perennial borders and rambling roses as well as a herb garden, vegetable patch and meadow with a wildlife pond/water feature and alpines. Landscaped and planted over the last 30 years there have been recorded changes. There are free range hens, a carpet of snowdrops and spring bulbs. Leaf, stem and berries to show colour in autumn and winter.
Admission: Adult £4 Child: Free
The Homestead, 2 Fanners Lane, High Legh, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 0RZ
Sunday, June 11 and Sunday, July 9
This compact gem of a garden has been created over the last seven years by a keen gardener and plants woman. Enter past groups of liquidambar and white stemmed birch. There are colour-themed areas with perennials, shrubs and trees. Walk past topiary and obelisks covered with varieties of clematis and roses, enjoy the colours of the hot border, a decorative greenhouse and a pond.
Admission: Adult £4.50 Child: Free
All Fours Farm, Colliers Farm, Aston by Budworth, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 6NF
Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25
A traditional and well-established country garden with a wide range of roses, hardy shrubs, bulbs, perennials and annuals. You will also find a small vegetable garden, pond and greenhouse as well as vintage machinery and original features from its days as a working farm. The garden is adjacent to the family's traditional rose nursery.
Admission: Adult £5 Child: Free
Parm Place, High Street, Great Budworth, Cheshire, CW9 6HF
Sunday, June 25
This is a well-stocked half-acre plants woman's garden with stunning views towards south Cheshire. There are curving lawns, parterre, shrubs and colour coordinated herbaceous borders as well as roses, water features, rockery and a gravel bed with some grasses. Fruit and vegetable plots are plentiful. In spring, there’s a large collection of bulbs and flowers, camellias, hellebores and blossom.
Admission: Adult £5 Child: Free
Sandymere, Middlewich Road, Cotebrook, Cheshire, CW6 9EH
Sunday, June 25
Sixteen landscaped acres of beautiful Cheshire countryside with terraces, walled garden, extensive woodland walks and an amazing hosta garden. Turn each corner and you find another gem with lots of different water features including a rill built in 2014, which links the main lawn to the hostas.
Admission: Adult £7 Child: Free
Bluebell Cottage Gardens, Lodge Lane, Dutton, Cheshire, WA4 4HP
Saturday, July 1 and Sunday, July 2
A south facing country garden wrapped around a cottage on a quiet rural lane in the heart of Cheshire. Packed with thousands of rare and familiar hardy herbaceous perennials, shrubs and trees, there are unusual plants available at the adjacent nursery. There’s a new walled garden with greenhouse and raised vegetable beds.
Admission: Adult £5 Child: Free
Milford House Farm, Long Lane, Winsford, Cheshire, CW7 4DN
Saturday, July 15
A large country garden created over 20 years with a lawn, mixed borders, hot, white and pastel areas. There’s a modern walled garden for vegetables and fruit as well as a greenhouse, potting shed, dahlias, wall shrubs and a display of exotics, succulents, tender plants and a water feature. There is an orchard for fruit and native, ornamental trees. The wildlife pond is popular with toads and newts and the venue has been gardened on organic lines to increase biodiversity and attract wildlife.
Admission: Adult £4 Child: Free
Norley Bank Farm, Cow Lane, Norley, Cheshire, WA6 8PJ
Sunday, July 23, Sunday, July 30 and Monday, August 7
A garden well-stocked with perennials, annuals and shrubs that wraps around this traditional Cheshire farmhouse. There is an enclosed cut flower and nursery garden surrounding a greenhouse and just beyond the house a vegetable garden. Wander past this to a large wildlife pond with a backdrop of pollinating flowers and a a recently formed stumpery. All set in about two acres.
Admission: Adult £5 Child: Free
Other Cheshire gardens:
By arrangement
213 Higher Lane, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 0RN
The Well House, Wet Lane, Tilston, Malpas, Cheshire, SY14 7DP
Rosewood, Old Hall Lane, Puddington, Neston, Cheshire, CH64 5SP
Long Acre, Wyche Lane, Bunbury, Cheshire, CW6 9PS
Inglewood, 4 Birchmere, Heswall, Cheshire, CH60 6TN
Hilltop, Flash Lane, Prestbury, Cheshire, SK10 4ED
Sunday, April 23
Hill Farm, Hill Lane, Sandbach, Cheshire, CW11 3PS
Saturday, April 29
Adswood, Townfield Lane, Mollington, Cheshire, CH1 6LB
Sunday, April 30
Laskey Farm, Laskey Lane, Thelwall, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 2TF
Adswood, Townfield Lane, Mollington, Cheshire, CH1 6LB
Monday, May 1
10 Statham Avenue, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 9NH
Laskey Farm, Laskey Lane, Thelwall, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 2TF
Framley, Hadlow Road, Willaston, Neston, Cheshire, CH64 2US
Thursday, May 4
Cholmondeley Castle Gardens, Cholmondeley, Malpas, Cheshire, SY14 8AH
Saturday, May 6
Brooke Cottage, Handforth, Cheshire, SK9 3LT
Sunday, May 7
Brooke Cottage, Handforth, Cheshire, SK9 3LT
Friday, May 12
Bolesworth Castle, Tattenhall, Cheshire, CH3 9HQ
Saturday, May 13
Bolesworth Castle, Tattenhall, Cheshire, CH3 9HQ
Hathaway, 1 Pool End Road, Tytherington, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 2LB
64 Carr Wood, Hale Barns, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA15 0EP
Sunday, May 14
Hill Farm, Hill Lane, Sandbach, Cheshire, CW11 3PS
Hathaway, 1 Pool End Road, Tytherington, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 2LB
Highbank, 110 Bradwall Road, Sandbach, Cheshire, CW11 1AW
Sunday, May 21
Bankhead, Old Coach Road, Barnhill, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 9JL
Mount Pleasant, Yeld Lane, Kelsall, Cheshire, CW6 0TB
Manley Knoll, Manley Road, Manley, Cheshire, WA6 9DX
Saturday, May 27
10 Statham Avenue, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 9NH
Laskey Farm, Laskey Lane, Thelwall, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 2TF
Sunday, May 28
10 Statham Avenue, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 9NH
Laskey Farm, Laskey Lane, Thelwall, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 2TF
Thursday, June 1
15 Park Crescent, Appleton, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 5JJ
Sunday, June 4
Tattenhall Hall, High Street, Tattenhall, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 9PX
Saturday, June 10
18 Highfield Road, Bollington, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 5LR
Drake Carr, Mudhurst Lane, Higher Disley, Cheshire, SK12 2AN
Sunday, June 11
18 Highfield Road, Bollington, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 5LR
Drake Carr, Mudhurst Lane, Higher Disley, Cheshire, SK12 2AN
60 Kennedy Avenue, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 3DE
Wednesday, June 14
10 Statham Avenue, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 9NH
Saturday, June 17
One House Walled Garden, off Buxton New Road, Rainow, Cheshire, SK11 0AD
New Inn Farm, Buxton New Road, Rainow, Cheshire, SK11 0AD
Willaston Grange, Hadlow Road, Willaston, Neston, Cheshire, CH64 2UN
Sunday, June 18
Hall Lane Farm, Hall Lane, Daresbury, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 4AF
One House Walled Garden, off Buxton New Road, Rainow, Cheshire, SK11 0AD
New Inn Farm, Buxton New Road, Rainow, Cheshire, SK11 0AD
Sunday, June 25
15 Park Crescent, Appleton, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 5JJ
Briarfield, The Rake, Burton, Neston, Cheshire, CH64 5TL
Burton Manor Walled Garden, The Village, Burton, Neston, Cheshire, CH64 5SJ
Trustwood, Burton, Cheshire, CH64 5TG
Sunday, July 2
Ashton Grange, Grange Road, Ashton Hayes, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 8AE
Wednesday, July 5
10 Statham Avenue, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 9NH
Thursday, July 6
5 Cobbs Lane, Hough, Crewe, Cheshire, CW2 5JN
Saturday, July 8
5 Cobbs Lane, Hough, Crewe, Cheshire, CW2 5JN
Saturday, July 15
Laskey Farm, Laskey Lane, Thelwall, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 2TF
The Old Byre, Sound Lane, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 8BE
Sound Manor, Wrenbury Heath Road, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 8BT
Sunday, July 16
Laskey Farm, Laskey Lane, Thelwall, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 2TF
The Old Byre, Sound Lane, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 8BE
Sound Manor, Wrenbury Heath Road, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 8BT
Saturday, July 22
Stretton Old Hall, Stretton, Malpas, Cheshire, SY15 7JA
The Birches, Grove Road, Mollington, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 6LG
Sunday, July 23
Stretton Old Hall, Stretton, Malpas, Cheshire, SY15 7JA
The Birches, Grove Road, Mollington, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 6LG
Sunday, July 30
The Firs, Old Chester Road, Barbridge, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 6AY
Sunday, August 6
The Firs, Old Chester Road, Barbridge, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 6AY
Sunday, August 13
Weeping Ash Garden, Bents Home and Garden, Warrington Road, Glazebury, Cheshire, WA3 5NS
Sunday, September 3
Mount Pleasant, Yeld Lane, Kelsall, Cheshire, CW6 0TB
Sunday, September 10
Weeping Ash Garden, Bents Home and Garden, Warrington Road, Glazebury, Cheshire, WA3 5NS
Sunday, October 8
The Lovell Quinta Arboretum, Swettenham, Cheshire, CW12 2LF
Sunday, October 29
Weeping Ash Garden, Bents Home and Garden, Warrington Road, Glazebury, Cheshire, WA3 5NS
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