Things to see in the garden at Cliveden

red, apricot and yellow roses with a green painted rose arch and white bench — Cliveden rose garden in June | © National Trust / Hugh Mothersole

Follow in the footsteps of dukes, earls, kings and queens as you stroll through a series of impressive spaces at Cliveden, each with its own special charm. Enjoy year-round interest and colour, from the bedding scheme of the Parterre and the hundreds of roses in the Rose Garden, to Lord Astor’s sculpture collection and the impressive Cliveden Maze.

The Rose Garden

Cliveden’s Rose Garden – originally designed by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe for the 3^rd Lord Astor in the 1950s – is a unique take on an ‘Edwardian style’ rose garden. With around 850 roses – including shrubs, floribunda, hybrid teas and climbers – the garden provides a wonderful array of colour from June all the way through to the autumn months.

This year will see the first flowering of the 70 new rose plants that we planted last November, when we excavated and replaced over 20 tonnes of soil. Jellicoe’s scheme has a dramatic colour combination, sweeping from yellow in the east through amber and orange to red in the west and we think the five new varieties that we have introduced – Sir John Betjeman, Sophy’s Rose, Dannahue, Bring Me Sunshine and Roald Dahl – will make a bold addition to the garden’s established design.

At the same time, we have this year introduced a selective range of underplanting in some of the rose beds. With alliums, comfrey, nepeta and Lady’s Mantle, we will be extending the season of interest and – we hope – improving soil health and attracting a more diverse range of pollinators as well.

The Parterre

June is the peak month for the bedding changeover here at Cliveden and the garden team will be taking more than 12,000 wallflowers, tulips and hyacinths from the Parterre, to be replaced with a striking combination of red and white begonias, interlaced with ribbons of red salvias and white antirrhinums. With red and white geraniums in the Parterre’s yew obelisk beds, it promises to be a vivid summer display.

In the Parterre’s large semi-circle bed, we will be planting chlorophytum – the spider plant – as a border to a bold display of almost 6,000 red Beacon Impatiens (Busy Lizzies), and the bedding in the Duke’s Garden this year will also be a must-see – around 2,000 Osteospermum Voltage Yellow dotted throughout with Canna Cannova Bronze Scarlet. It should be an electric combination.

The six acre Parterre at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire, comprising of 16 triangular beds with box hedging and manicured yew topiary, as well as a semi-circle bed on the north end. The beds are filled with shrubs and flowers, and surrounded by neatly cut lawn and bordered by trees in full leaf. Beyond the end of the parterre the view stretches away to the countryside. — The Parterre in summer at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire | © National Trust Images / Hugh Mothersole

Work in the Water Garden

There is ongoing conservation work in the Water Garden which you'll be able to see taking place. We are emptying the remaining ponds of silt, which needs to dry out before it becomes compost for the estate.

The Water Garden

The recent new planting schemes in the Water Garden are really starting to mature now, offering an array of both colour and scent from spring all the way through to the winter months. The Acers, Tai Haku (Great White Cherry) and a Wedding Cake Tree in our new project bed on the right hand side as one enters the Water Garden gave beautiful blossom in the spring. King George rhododendrons, one of the best hybrid rhododendrons with soft pink flower buds that open to pure white and give off a lovely fragrance, are planted at either end of the same bed and provide a wonderful sight. Along the back of the bed are spreading hydrangeas with lilac blue flowers to provide a beautiful backdrop.

Elsewhere in the Water Garden, this summer will see the completion of our pond renovation scheme. We have already returned the working fountain to the main pond, and it provides a wonderful accompaniment of sound and light to a summer’s afternoon. The carp are very happy to be back in their new home and we look forward to seeing how our new aquatic planting scheme of waterlilies, marsh marigolds, iris and myosotis establishes over the coming years’.

Water Garden pond repairs

We are working to repair the historic Water Garden ponds and water features. The ponds were built in the late 1890s and the concrete that lines them is now cracking and allowing water to escape. By mending the cracks, we will ensure that we are using water as efficiently as possible in the future.

The project involves removing the water plants, transferring the fish, draining the water completely and dredging the silt from the bottom of the ponds before carrying out the repairs.

We’re working on the ponds in turn, so that the fish can be transferred from one pond to another. The Water Garden may take some time to settle after the disruption, but the de-silted, cleaner ponds means that the waterlilies and fish will have more space to thrive.

Visitors in the Water Garden walking along the stone steps towards the pagoda at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire — Visitors in the Water Garden at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire | © National Trust / James Dobson

The Forecourt Borders

These visitor favourites feature one hot border filled with tones of red, yellow and orange while the cool border contains tones of blues, white and purple. The displays are so full that you can spot something new each time you visit.

The Walled Garden

Did you know the main visitor car park was originally a walled garden created to supply the estate with fruit and vegetables? We've been working to reinstate the kitchen garden’s character by planting fruit trees against the walls.

From spring to autumn the Walled Garden provides produce for the estate to use, from lettuce to plums. There is a walk around the perimeter of the main car park for you to get up close to see what we’re growing.

The War Memorial Garden

Cliveden provided the Canadian Red Cross with a hospital during the First World War. In 1918, the 1st Viscount Astor's sunken Italian garden was adapted to create a memorial garden for the deceased. It contains 42 war graves from the First World War, each marked with a stone set in the turf.

If you are planning to make a special trip solely to visit the war graves, please call us in advance on 01628 605069 to book a free viewing and a member of the team will be on hand to meet you. If you would like to incorporate a visit to the War Memorial Garden while exploring the wider estate, please note usual admission charges apply.

The Round Garden

The apple trees trained around the arched structures of the Round Garden are heavy with fruit in the autumn. It's worth a wander through the apple 'tunnels'. The restoration of the garden at Cliveden has revealed many secrets, including a long-lost fruit garden on the northern edge of the woodlands, just a short walk from Green Drive. The Round Garden was laid out in the mid-19th century and is possibly the only surviving example in the UK of a circular fruit orchard from this period.

Having been out of production since the 1950s, it has been brought back to life by the ranger team who are protecting heritage trees and planting many new ones. Wildlife flourished while it was out of action, making it a haven for rare insects and fungi, as well as bats and birds.

The Long Garden

This summer we will be transforming the Italianate Long Garden with a striking planting scheme of colourful vegetables – in the four large central beds alone we will be planting more than 5,000 vibrant plants, including kale, lettuce, squash, tomatoes, climbing beans, chard and edible flowers and herbs, all of which will have been grown on-site here at Cliveden. It promises to be an unmissable display that is both ornamental and productive and the garden produce will be available for visitors to take home through donations at the Cliveden shop.

The potager planting scheme will be for this summer only as in 2025 we will be returning the Long Garden to its perennial planting roots, drawing inspiration from the celebrated garden designer Norah Lindsay’s plans for the Astor Family in the 1930s. We have taken the opportunity to do something unique this summer at Cliveden that references a time when the Long Garden was used to grow fruit and vegetables and will also be learning some valuable lessons for when we return Cliveden’s Walled Garden to being a productive area in the coming years.

View from the top of the Long Garden, showing vegetables growing in the Long Garden in Summer at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire — Vegetables in the Long Garden in Summer at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire | © National Trust / Daniel Dean

Bike Policy

We'd love for you to cycle to Cliveden and you can lock bikes up in the spaces provided in the Walled Garden. 5 year olds and under are able to bring small scooters and balance bikes onto the estate. Mobility scooters can also be taken onto the estate but please leave bikes with pedals by the Information Centre.