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The garden at Max Gate

A close up of the door to Max Gate with a white flower overhead
Entrance to Max Gate | © Tony Gill

The garden at Max Gate was designed by Thomas Hardy in 1885. It provided a rich source of inspiration to the writer who would walk through the space every day, whatever the weather. Today, the garden remains much as it was when Hardy was alive and you can take a gentle stroll along the winding paths that he once walked.

Through the seasons

The changing seasons bring interest; come in the spring for an abundance of flowering bulbs such as snowdrops, wild narsissus, cowslip and anemone; summer for climbing roses, helenium and echinops and autumn for dahlia, chrysanthemum and the copper leaves of the surrounding beech trees.  Don’t forget to look out for seasonal produce in the kitchen garden including heritage potatoes, onions and leeks. 

 

Hardy's approach to gardening 

Hardy’s writing shows that he was passionate about nature and wildlife, he took care to look after the animals that visited his garden. The garden team continue to work in this spirit by not using chemicals and letting nature continue to thrive. 

 

“Nature and the life of the the country, with all the contradictions he came to see in them, remained for Hardy one of the mainsprings of his life and work.”

Figures in a Wessex Landscape. Thomas Hardy`s picture of English country life. Edited by Joannna Cullen Brown.

Flowers in the garden at Max Gate
Flowers in the garden at Max Gate | © Tony Gill

Wildlife highlights 

The garden at Max Gate is a haven for wildlife thanks to a small wildflower meadow next to the old croquet lawn.  It flowers in May and June, attracting bees, butterflies and insects that pollinate different times throughout the year. The garden is also home to a number of rescue hedgehogs that come out of hibernation mid-March. 

 

Kitchen Garden 

The Hardys used the garden for domestic purposes including growing fruit and vegetables. Today, it can be found brimming with the vegetables of the season, including flowering painted lady runner beans, squash, beetroot, carrots, onions and leeks. 

Kitchen Garden green and leafy with red brick Victorian building in the background
The Kitchen Garden | © Lisa Wilcock

The pet cemetery 

Hardy and Emma created a cemetery for their pets in the garden with Hardy carving most of the headstones himself. The cemetary includes Wessex, the Hardys’ beloved terrier, as well as cats and dogs from later residents. 

 

Archaeology 

Hardy unknowingly built Max Gate in the centre of a late Neolithic enclosure. During the foundation excavations he found Iron Age and Roman burials and a megalith which he set up on the lawn beside the house. The archaeology of the site informs how we care for the garden.

Forthglade

We've partnered with natural pet food maker Forthglade so that you and your dog can get even more out of the special places we care for.

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