Visiting the garden at Erddig

The house and topiary at Erddig, Wrexham covered in frost | © National Trust Images/Paul Harris

Visit a fully restored 18th-century garden at Erddig, shaped by the plans of John Meller. A rich London lawyer, Meller bought Erddig in 1714, and today you can see fruit trees in abundance, just as they featured in Joshua Edisbury’s original garden plans in the 1680s. Discover a wide variety of fruit trees in this Grade I-listed garden, planted during the restoration.

Winter highlights in the garden at Erddig

Winter is the perfect time to see and appreciate the structure of the Garden at Erddig. Pleached limes, hedges, trained fruit, paths, ponds and walls all take centre stage during the coldest season.

Take a stroll around the 1,200-acre estate to admire its stately old trees. Many are native species, while others were introduced from foreign lands in the 1800s when the park was landscaped.

Winter fungi and plants

Early in winter, look out for fungi such as waxcaps. There's a huge variety of fungi species across the estate, particularly on deadwood habitats, veteran trees and in the grasslands down in the parkland.

Crab apples, sloes, holly berries and hazelnuts offer food for wildlife and later on in the season you'll see snowdrops and wild primroses begin to bloom in the woodlands.

A young visitor runs past the espaliered trees in the garden at Erddig, Wales, in winter. — Espaliered trees in the garden at Erddig in winter | © National Trust Images/Rob Stothard

Winter wildlife

Keep your eyes peeled for green woodpeckers around this time. They're the largest and most elusive woodpecker in the UK. Look out for a flash of green flying or ‘dipping’ low to the ground in open fields near wooded areas.

You can also spot jays. This member of the corvid family has a distinctive blue and pink plumage and you can often see them in woodland.

Even if you don't manage to spot your favourite winter species, listen carefully and you might be lucky enough to hear the calls of foxes, owls, robins and buzzards.

A garden for all seasons

Throughout the year, loose gravelled pathways around the walled garden allow visitors to easily enjoy the views without getting too muddy or wet, and little feet enjoy the crunching sound come rain or shine.

Erddig features extensive lawns, trained fruit trees, exuberant annual herbaceous borders, avenues of pleached limes, formal hedges, conical topiary, a nationally important collection of ivies and a Victorian parterre bedding display that usually changes twice a year.

Pleached Limes

The double avenues of pleached lime trees are a remarkable feature here at Erddig. The trees form a ‘living wall’ and mark the position of the original walled border of the Grade I listed garden, which was later demolished.

They burst into bud around April time, a sure sign that warmer days are here.

The extensive pleached lime tree avenues are pruned by hand. This ancient art, which dates from Roman times, involves connecting branches together to create a shaded walkway to promenade.

It would take one skilled gardener around 10 weeks (about 2 and a half months) to complete the task single-handedly, making around 65,000 cuts – thankfully we have a small team on hand to take on the mammoth challenge!

The Parterre

The Victorian parterre can be found at the rear of the house. It is thought to have been originally laid out around 1861, but was overgrown when the property came into the care of National Trust Wales in the 1970s. Using old photographs and archaeological evidence, the Trust reinstated this area to what visitors see today.

The planting scheme changes with the seasons. Expect to see it bursting with colourful tulips in spring and pansies in winter.

The canal water feature and pond

The central canal was created in the 18^th Century and is surrounded by wildflowers and double avenues of lime trees which are thought to have been planted around 1800.

In the spring, the canal bank is bursting with wildflowers, daffodils, crocuses and primroses and as spring turns to summer pink common spotted orchids, which are recorded by the garden team.

Close by is the fishpond, which in the 18^th Century provided food for those living in the house. Look out for the beautiful pink cherry blossom in spring, water lilies from late spring through summer and the acer, which is particularly stunning in autumn.

You can expect to find lots of wildlife living here, including swans, Canadian Geese, coots and carp.

At the end of the canal sit the wrought iron gates, which were brought from Stansty Park in the early 1900s. Attributed to Robert Davies, they were installed in their current position in the 1970s when the property came into the Trust's care.

White swan swimming in the canal surrounded by winter scenery at Erddig. | © Paul Harris

The rose garden

This walled garden is a beautiful, secluded spot with gates onto the garden, parterre and westfront. Its curved beds contain herbaceous plants and bulbs, roses such as rosa centifolia, trees and climbing roses. Around April look out for the clematis montana ‘Grandiflora’.

Take a seat on one of the benches, relax with a book and soak up the wonderful scents around you.

The Victorian garden and yew walk

An impressive feature of the garden at Erddig are the Irish yew trees, which were planted in around 1865. They form a lovely avenue walk to the Victorian garden where you’ll find roses, clematis and planters filled with seasonal colour.

In the summer months look out for the soft pink rosa spectabilis which is grown using a catenary, a curved rope which encourages the rose to hang between two points. The roses are pruned in winter, with the gardeners reserving two stems on each side to train on the ropes to create this curved effect.

The West Front

Visitors to the West Front of the property will notice the 'Boston Creeper' Ivy - Parthenocissus tricuspidata, which transforms from green in late spring into a stunning scarlet and deep crimson in autumn.

Philip Yorke I commissioned Williams Emes to landscape this part of the estate between 1767-89. It included work on the meadows, tree planting and the building of the Cup and Saucer, which you can visit during a walk on the estate.

Look out for a sapling planted by King Charles II in December 2022 as part of our Green Canopy. His Majesty and then First Minister Mark Drakeford planted a rare sapling which had been successfully grafted from the historic Pontfadog Oak, which fell in a storm in 2013.

The ancient Pontfadog Oak, stood at Cilcochwyn Farm, near Chirk, Wrexham, and was cared for by generations of the Williams family. It was thought to be one of the world’s largest and oldest oak trees.

In 2013, The Crown Estate propagated the original Pontfadog Oak tree and planted a tree in Windsor Great Park. A further five Pontfadog Oaks were then grafted from this tree; three have been gifted to National Trust Cymru, and two are cared for by the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

The sapling was planted in memoriam to honour Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Places to rest in the garden

Dotted along the pathways you’ll find seats and alcoves to sit and rest awhile. Be sure to find the two hidden alcoves to the north and south of the Victorian parterre, perfect for a picnic.

In summertime and on dry days in spring and autumn, the deckchairs are out, and you can relax for as long as you like or bring your own picnic blanket.

A group of visitors tour a garden in front of a red-brick house, led by a man holding a red folder. — A group tours Erddig’s 18th-century garden | © National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra

Outdoor tours at Erddig

Discover the secrets of Erddig on one of our free tours led by expert volunteer guides.

Tours last approximately 30 minutes and look more closely at a variety of topics, for example our most popular Potted History tour, which provides a general introduction to Erddig, and the History of the Garden Tour, Working Estate tour, and Vehicles tour.

Outdoor tours are run between March to October and weekends only in November. Dates will depend on volunteer availability, please check with the ticket office on the day of your visit to find out if one is taking place. There is no booking required - simply visit the Midden Yard where you'll find the day's tour times and meeting point.

Family fun in the garden at Erddig

Enjoy a family walk or tick off several of the '50 things to do before you’re 11¾' activities in the garden. You can easily do No. 8 Spot a fish or No. 31 Make friends with a bug and the garden is perfect for No. 1 – Get to know a tree.

We’re sorry, but dogs are not allowed in the Grade I-listed garden, but they are welcome on the 1,200-acre estate and in the tea garden through to the Midden Yard.