The garden at Nunnington Hall

Young children running down avenue at Nunnington Hall — Enjoy exploring Nunnington's garden and grounds this winter | © National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

The garden at Nunnington Hall is 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 goes to sleep, visiting in winter gives a great opportunity to see the infrastructure of the garden, with formally shaped Yews and symmetrical paths.

We leave plant stems in place throughout the plant borders for habitat. This creates frosty shapes as the winter mornings get colder, often with spider webs adding to the atmosphere. You can also see birds’ nests.

There’s winter colour to be found, including Mahonia, Christmas Box, Hellebores, Dogwood and Rosehips, with Snowdrops and Winter Aconites appearing later on as the harbingers of Spring. Keep your eyes peeled for birds’ nests, and robins, peacocks, and squirrels rummaging around the leaves at this time of year. Will you be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an otter in the river?

Nunnington Hall in the snow — Nunnington Hall in the winter snow | © Laura Kennedy

Redesigning the Iris Garden

A new project is underway at Nunnington Hall to reimagine the Iris Garden, one of the few historical gardens remaining at the property

To discover more, visit the dedicated web page on the National Trust website and keep an eye on progress.

Iris Garden garden design concept visual — Development of the Iris Garden is an exciting new project at Nunnington. | © Kristina Clode

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.

Relax by the river

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