Welcome to the Nanhoron

Park and Gardens

In those days the mansion stood approximately where the stable yard is today, and the walled garden closest to it was the flower garden; the second walled garden with its plunge pond (so that the gardeners could water the plants) was then the kitchen garden, planted with a wide variety of pears, espalier apple trees, nectarines, peaches, plums and cherries – there is a complete list of the fruit trees that were planted then in the Nanhoron library.   The present house, designed by Joseph Bromfield of Shrewsbury in 1797, was completed by 1803, and it was possibly at this time that the use of the gardens was reversed, with the East Garden becoming the kitchen garden, and the West Garden being devoted to flowers and shrubs.   The Woodland Walk through Coed Nant-yr-Ala remains in form exactly as it was laid out more than two hundred years ago – the Estate Survey in the Library, dated 1776, shows its extent and the line of the paths.

The West Garden contains many fine azaleas and rhododendrons planted by Mrs Ursula Harden, who began work on the gardens in the 1950s following many years of neglect. The paths have been re-aligned and re-laid, the Long Border revived and replanted with yew buttresses and a pergola erected round the pond to carry wisteria and roses. The spaniel statues, modeled on one of David Harden’s beloved Springers were made by Mo Farquharson. New borders have been planted round the pool which was extended with a rill and water feature (2006). Work on a garden of this size inevitably never ends, so visitors are always bound to see some works in progress. The garden above was originally the eighteenth-century Drying Green and is now linked to the rest of the garden with steps. It is currently being re-modeled into a Baroque-style garden (2010) with a reflecting pool and yew hedges. Future plans for this area include statuary and designs for a gazebo and Orangery.

The East Garden today is laid out as a kitchen garden. The paths have been re-laid, restoring the old quadrants of the garden, box hedges have been replanted, a Rose Walk created, the vegetable patch formalised with brick paths (2001), the old orchard revived and a new crab-apple orchard created (2004) with the crab-apple pergola planted in 2008. The wrought iron gates were installed in 1994 to celebrate the 40th birthday of David Harden. A glasshouse was first built in 1843. The house archives contain the original bill for its installation and old OS maps show that it was replaced at the beginning of the twentieth century with the glasshouse you see today. It houses four varieties of table grapes. In front of it is an herb garden on the site of old cold frames.  As far as possible we try to garden organically.

The Woodland Walk Rhododendrons from Bodnant were first planted here in the 1930s, but by the 1950s much had returned to nature. The principal plantings of camellia, azalea and rhododendrons date from this time. Some of the mature trees are as old as the walk itself, with specimen conifers planted as a Pinetum in the 1860s. The best time of the year to see the Woodland Walk is in the late Spring when the ground is covered with drifts of bluebells. Within the Walk there are rides and paths, the Dogs’ Graveyard, a ruined Cold Bath and the remnants of an eighteenth-century Fernery and Grotto that we have rescued and replanted. Major re-development is ongoing with fresh planting in hand, together with the restoration of older features and the creation of new paths and glades. As part of this work, new tree ferns and other ferns have been planted throughout the woodland, reflecting the fact that tree ferns were known to have been planted here in the 1920s. The latest development is in the Dingle at the end of the Walk. Here new access paths have been created, a pond enlarged, and the first phase of new plantings of rhododendrons, magnolias, specimen conifers and other trees, together with a bog garden, has begun.

The gardens at Nanhoron are open by appointment only.  

The admission charge is £4 per head (children free)  

 Group visits (10 people or more) incur a minimum charge of £50 with a non-returnable deposit of £25 to secure the booking. This includes a conducted tour of the garden with Mrs Harden.   Arrangements can be made for tea to be provided.

Click here for Garden Map