News from Athelhampton House & Gardens.

With the Easter Holidays in full swing, and Easter less than a week away, many historic houses and other visitor attractions in Dorset and around the country have an Easter Trail, often featuring rabbits, eggs, dinosaurs and other chocolatey goodness. It's a crowded market and, truth be told, there would be plenty of space for Athelhampton's Easter Trail in over 1000 feet of our herbaceous borders. However, our Easter Trail is non-existent. While we could try to keep up with

As the drizzle settled over Athelhampton today, our gardening team decided that getting even wetter wouldn't hurt. Across the eight ponds and fountains in Athelhampton's formal historic gardens, there is always work to be done. The water flowing through them is sourced from the River Piddle, a natural chalk stream, and after running through Athelhampton's system it returns to the river. Keeping the water clean and alive means that all our ponds and fountains have to be care

Carefully edging the pond at the Great Court As we move towards Spring, the Great Court Garden at Athelhampton begins to feel quietly enchanted under an unbroken blue sky. The fountain catches the late afternoon sun, its water sparkling and scattering light, while the tall yew pyramids cast long, graceful shadows across the lawns. With visitors welcomed throughout the year, we have no hurried reopening as the seasons turn. Instead, as Winter turns to Spring, the rhythm of the

Beautiful Magnolia flowers beginning to open in the sunshine With the quiet return of Spring to Athelhampton, the magnolia trees are beginning to flower. Their delicate petals unfolding in soft shades of blush and cream against the cool Dorset air, these trees only flower for a few brief weeks each year. In this short time, they bring a moment of understated beauty to the gardens in advance of the fuller colours of spring. Magnolia flowers against the blue Dorset sky Wander t

With the arrival of Spring, the gardens at Athelhampton begin to stir into life again. To begin with, the change in seasons is barely visible: one of the first signs is seen simply in movement. Gordon the robot mower working in harmony with our gardening team As mowing resumes, the first stripes return to the lawns. As with so much of the gardening, there is a balance between human skill and machine precision, both working in quiet partnership. Our gardening team’s knowledge

Galanthus nivalis, or the Snowdrop, blooms early in the year, when little else dares for fear of the cold. Its appearance subtly marks the first turn towards spring. Gathering at the feet of trees and along old stone walls, the blooming of the snowdrops at Athelhampton gives us the first inklings that winter is beginning to loosen its grip. An abundance of delicate snowdrops brightening up a cold winters day While not native to the UK, snowdrops have brightened our woodlands

Winter rests over Athelhampton’s gardens, and the old stones of the historic dovecote keep their silence. Despite its quiet, the gardeners carry on working around this ancient building. Secateurs whisper through thorn and stem, each careful cut placing faith in a season yet to come. A variety of Roses, carefully trained by the gardening team, covering the old stone walls of the Dovecote With pared back borders, and a soft grey sky above, it would be easy to think the garden s

On a rainy day at Athelhampton, there is nothing quite like a quiet rummage through our archive. Some of our photographs date from around 1850, from the earliest years of photography itself. Today’s pairing takes us back exactly a century, to 1926, when the historic gardens were opened to the public for the very first time by George and Mary Cochrane. The original Parterre and Yew Pyramids established in the Great Court in the late 1800’s Then, the yew pyramids punctuated the

A pause in the weather, and a pause in the season. A view of the Tudor Manor House stood next to the Cedar of Lebanon Blue skies are returning to Athelhampton, if only briefly, slipping through between the passing showers. There are still 37 days until Spring (meteorological Spring, not the equinox!), but the air already feels different. Lighter, softer, and full of promise. The tops of the Yew Pyramids peaking over the Great Court wall The lawns glow, the trees begin to stir

A soft, drizzly Monday at Athelhampton with mist in the historic gardens and drizzle darkening the stone. The paths glisten, the hedges hold their breath, and the house sits quietly at the heart of it all. A misty view of the Pavilion of Winter/Sorrow across the Italian terrace We are open all year round. On days like this, there is a particular pleasure in stepping inside the Tudor manor to warm rooms, gentle fires, and a hot lunch waiting in the restaurant, while the weathe

An unexpected frost greeted us at Athelhampton this morning. A blanket of frost covering the lawn around the vegetable beds and Apple trees in the Kitchen Garden The historic kitchen garden lay still, its beds resting and empty, waiting patiently for the season of growing to return. A crisp, bright pause, reminding us that even quiet ground is full of promise. We're open everyday to visit!

At the ends of the terrace in Athelhampton's historic gardens, the two pavilions - Winter Sorrow and Summer Joy - were built in 1891. Athelhampton's Victorian owner Alfred Cart de Lafontaine had Ham Hill stone used, and it takes on a beautiful warm, golden colour in the low winter sun. A panoramic view of the dappled sunlight lighting up the Great Court at Athelhampton At this time of year the gardens are quieter. The flowers have faded back, but the structure and architectu

A red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning, as the old saying goes. A beautiful sunrise reflecting in the River Piddle An early walk at Athelhampton before the historic gardens began to stir, and the Iron Bridge was bathed in the first light of the sunrise. The bridge straddles the River Piddle, one of Dorset's chalk streams. Calm and reflective, the clean water caught the brief, fiery moment when night gives way to day, looking like a moving watercolour painting. It's a pr

A variety of shiny baubles being carefully placed on the Christmas tree Athelhampton’s gardening team know a thing or two about the trees that fill our gardens. But for a couple of magical days each year they step into the cosy glow of the Tudor house and turn their talents to some very different trees. Ladders normally used for pruning climbing Roses are moved indoors so that the star can be placed atop the Great Hall Christmas tree With shimmering baubles, slices of candied

Wandering through the historic gardens at Athelhampton in the autumn sunshine, you can see the liquidambar glowing deep red against the golden leaves of the tulip tree beyond — a perfect moment of colour that only October can bring. The Liquidambar and Liriodendron showing off their incredible Autumnal colours Athelhampton feels especially peaceful at this time of year; the mellow stone of the house and the still ponds seem to reflect the calm of the season. Athelhampton Hous

Harvest time at Athelhampton. In the historic kitchen garden, the beds are still brimming with life, beets, celeriac, kale, turnips, chard, leeks, carrots, and a large crop of pumpkins, all destined for our kitchen for the restaurant and Sunday carvery. A variety of Pumpkins and Squash being harvest from the Kitchen Garden The Tudor Martyn family of Athelhampton would have been very familiar with the season, though some of these vegetables might have been more familiar to the

Visit Athelhampton this autumn, and you’ll see pears ripening in the gardens, and glowing too in the stained glass of the Great Hall. The pears appear in the arms of Elizabeth Kelway, who around 1530 married Robert Martyn of Athelhampton. Her family’s coat of arms shows four golden pears and a pair of grozing irons, the delicate tools once used by glaziers to shape stained glass. It bears a very strong resemblance to that of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of

Crates upon crates of delicious homegrown Apples It’s apple harvest time at Athelhampton! We expect to gather at least 3 tonnes of apples this season, from the apple trees spread around our historic gardens. These will all be pressed by Bessie, our trusty hydraulic press. The gardening team hand picking Apples ready for juicing Once pressed the juice will be pasteurised, bottled on site, and served in our restaurant next year — truly orchard to table.

Salvia ‘Amistad’ and Crocosmia ‘George Davidson’ are putting on a vibrant September display in the herbaceous borders here at Athelhampton. Salvia and Crocosmia displaying contrasting colours throughout the herbaceous borders We have over 1000ft of borders to explore in our stunning architectural gardens here at Athelhampton, and there's always something new to see, even as summer gives way to Autumn.

In the walled Corona Garden at Athelhampton, our deep red ‘Arabian Night’ dahlias are putting on a dramatic show. Dahlia ‘Arabian Night’ stealing the spotlight in the Corona Garden After today’s sunshine and showers, their petals glisten like velvet jewels in the rain. A perfect late-summer highlight in the gardens.