Buckland Abbey's gardens

A white blossom tree is framed in front of grey stonework and a blue sky, with the tower of the Abbey visible in the background. — Beautiful blossom on a spring day at Buckland Abbey | © Laura De'Ath

From beautiful blooms to bountiful harvests, the gardens at Buckland Abbey are full of colour and seasonal interest. Soak up the history of this special place as you admire the planting, or simply enjoy the peace and tranquillity as you sit a while on one of the benches.

A garden for all seasons

Whatever the time of year, the gardens at Buckland Abbey are a treat for the senses. From delicate wildflowers to bold displays of tulips, beautiful borders to wild spaces, each area of the garden has something exciting to offer.

The Abbey Garden features sweeping lawns and established borders, leading to the Elizabethan Garden on the north side of the building, where over 100 new single and semi-double flowered rose plants were recently planted by the garden team. From here, you'll also see the original medieval stonework of the walls - a reminder of the earlier Abbey complex.

The Kitchen Garden is still used to grow vegetables and fruit, with heritage apple trees and fragrant herbs in abundance, and a wonderful display of squashes in the autumn.

A little further on, you'll find the Cider House Garden, with its herbaceous borders and pretty spring flower meadow. Don't miss the 'Wild Garden' at the far end: a peaceful spot to rest and enjoy the views.

A celebration of spring blooms

Blooming white magnolia and pink camellia trees in the Abbey gardens, with a view to the estate beyond. — Beautiful spring displays at Buckland Abbey | © Barry Colley

The Abbey lawn

From vibrant rhododendrons to marshmallow pink magnolia blooms, the Abbey borders are alive with colour in spring.

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Spring highlights in the garden

Spring is a wonderful time to visit Buckland's gardens, with glorious displays of magnolia, rhododendron and camellia, as well as and abundance of spring flowers.

In the early spring, look out for unusual varieties of snowdrops around the grounds and on the estate, and later come carpets of crocus in the Cider House Garden, and blossom trees to admire in the Upper Walled Garden. The various veteran magnolias around the Abbey borders provide an amazing display in mid-Spring and are a key feature at this time. By May, Wisteria is the star of the show, with its scented purple blooms covering the Cider House Linhay and the west aspect of the Abbey.

At this time, the Garden team are busy preparing for the year ahead, sowing vegetable seeds, mulching and planting out hardy varieties. Come back later in the year and you may get to taste the produce in the cafe or even buy some in the shop to take home.

Head Gardener Sam says “Spring is such an amazing time in the garden, with all the hope for the summer season ahead, and all the different Spring bulbs and blossom coming out to put on stunning displays as we leave the long winter months behind. First come the pristine white snowdrops, and then the crocuses, fritillaries and daffodils. The Tamar Valley has a rich history of growing daffodils for cut flowers with lots of varieties local to the area. We are hoping to build up our collection over the next few years to showcase this diversity and of course to have bunches for visitors to take home!”