The garden at Nunnington Hall

Visitors and the south front of the house at Nunnington Hall, North Yorkshire — Wrap up and take in the long vistas and intimate gardens when you visit | © National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

The organic gardens at Nunnington Hall are the perfect place to enjoy some peace and quiet. Peaceful hidden spots, colourful peacocks and colourful flowers offer a great day out.

The Garden in winter

As the garden moves from the vibrant colours of summer, through the yellow and oranges of autumn, the garden slows down into mid-winter. Visiting at this time of year, gives a great opportunity to see the bare-bones infrastructure of the garden, with formally shaped Yews and the symmetry of borders and paths.

We leave plant stems and seedheads in place throughout the borders for habitat for overwintering insects such as ladybirds. These stems and seedheads provide architectural infrastructure over the dormant period, and they help create seasonal atmosphere as they become connected by cobwebs, covered in twinkling dew drops, and then bejewelled in sparkling frost as the nights become colder.

There’s winter colour still to be found with plants such as Mahonia, Christmas Box (Sarcococca), Hellebores, Dogwood and Rosehips, with Snowdrops and Winter Aconites appearing later, as the early harbingers of spring.

Otter swimming on the surface of the water with its catch of fish, at Stackpole, Pembrokeshire — Otters play in the River Rye running through the garden | © National Trust Images / Jim Bebbington

Nature and wildlife

Keep your eyes peeled for last season’s birds’ nests in the leafless shrubs while robins, blackbirds, peacocks, and squirrels are rummaging through the fallen leaves looking for some well needed winter food supplies. The ivy on the trees is providing a much-valued late nectar source for insects.

As the leaves disappear from the trees, we see more of the river meandering through the garden which affords us increased sightings of otters as they feed and play.

Relax by the river

The garden sits alongside the River Rye which hosts a great deal of wildlife. Spend a while by the river and you may just catch a glimpse of brown trout, otters, kingfishers and swans.

A new Iris Garden

In spring 2025, we completed a project at Nunnington Hall to reimagine the Iris Garden, one of the few historical gardens remaining at the property. Sit around the pond, next to sulpture and see the every changing planting around you. There's an iris set to flower every month of the year... subject to the Yorkshire weather of course.

Two metal sculptures featuring prominently in the newly redesigned Iris Garden — The newly redesigned Iris Garden is now open to visitors at Nunnington Hall | © National Trust / Andrew Davies

Living organically

The garden has been managed fully organically since 2002, reviving traditional horticultural methods while also embracing modern techniques and technology. You can see much of this work in practice as you explore the garden. This includes such things as a four-bay composting system, a wormery, fruit cages and an organic vegetable patch.

Each year sheep fleece is packed around the base of young fruit trees which acts as an organic mulch. Not only does it suppress the weed growth and help the soil to retain moisture, but slowly releases nutrients directly to the tree roots as the fleece decays. Additionally, the birds, mice and bumblebees enjoy the opportunity of collecting luxurious bedding for their nests.