Gardens

THE GARDENS OF LITTLE BENTLEY HALL

Next opening will be for Little Bentley Hall Waterways & Garden 

The next opening os the Gardens will be on Friday 8th September 2023 of Son Et Lumiere in the Garden for aprox 500 Invited Guests.

Contact nigel@garden-shows.com  for more details. 

 Little Bentley Hall garden and parkland of fifty acres has evolved over the past thirty years from a virgin site. The approach is through a double lime drive. Formal box parteere-hedging fronts the Georgian house and furnishes the adjacent sunken garden highlighted by a rivulet at which standard specimens of Magnolia grandiflora stand guard. To the other side a curved avenue of English oaks shelter a further collection of species oaks. Stretching away from the avenue bold plantings of trees and shrubs are set in parkland mode.

 The house is luxuriously furnished with a wide range of plants the walls home to wisterias, roses et al. the west facing terrace to the rear of the house opens a vista to a two acre lake, extracted in the early days, now clothed with alders, many dogwoods, viburnums and the Dawn Redwood. Metasequoia glyptost roboides. Partially hidden is a smaller pond heavily furnished with bog iris, and evergreen azaleas to the side London Planes and Tulip trees form a striking backdrop.

 Further on substantial groups of shrub roses, flowering cherries, ornamental crabs, magnolias and a telling stand of blue spruce.

 On returning towards the house, more magnolias, the conspicuous purple leaves of Cercidiphyllum, Forest Pansy vie with those of Prunus virginiana Shubert. Achameleon like subject rapidly changing its apple green foliage to purple in spring. And, here the pearl in the oysteris revealed. A canal system encircles two islands, which abound with numerous rhododendron species and eucryphias. While on the adjacent waterways massed colonies of candelabra primulas followed by astilbes and later hydrangeas provide a colour spectacle.

 Stunning autumn tints round off the seasons Nyssa, parrotia and acers playing a major role.

  Your visit on first week of June will leave you amazed at the diversity of this stunning garden, said to be one of the finest in East Anglia.