Flowton Open Gardens
In aid of St Mary's Church Flowton and East Anglia's Children's Hospices Treehouse Appeal
Car Parking is available & clearly marked
Discover the hidden gardens of Flowton Entry to gardens and flower festival £4 (accompanied children free) for both days Available within them: Available within them:Cream teas 3.00 to 5.00 pm For further information ring 01473 658335 or email grahamfawcus@flowtonhall.co.uk These are the gardens for you to explore – some details yet to come. There is a cross section of country gardens from great ones with lawns, ponds, orchards and vistas to small ones of great beauty and interest. In some you should find a scarecrow, the result of a children’s competition. FLOWTON HALL An extensive and delightful garden which has been developed by the lady of the house over the last eighteen years from an overgrown hayfield. As well as a small vegetable and soft fruit garden there is a large herbaceous bed complete with flower clad arbour, two ponds which are home to ducks and moorhens, an orchard with old style apple trees, many and varied hedges, and myriad roses and honeysuckle climbing up trees and telegraph poles and rambling over buildings. Within this setting there are numerous hidden corners and long distance vistas. Why not stop here for an afternoon cream tea
CAMPERDOWN COTTAGE Camperdown Cottage has about four acres of wildlife garden running down the hill to a stream. Many hedges and trees have been planted in the last twenty years to encourage bird, mammal and insect life. There is a large lily pond and old orchard trees are scattered about the property. There is a walled garden and a hazel arch. Don't expect pristine lawns, but enjoy a stroll in our hidden garden. Please take care with young children as the ponds and stream can be deep.
CHURCH COTTAGE John and Maureen took over the one-third acre garden of David and Dorothy Chandler in December 1980. They have developed the garden to be viewed from the cottage in sympathy with the background of the church and the surrounding countryside. They extend a very warm welcome to you to eat your lunch in their garden.
The Arboretum was developed from the late 1960s by Ray Brooks, nurseryman and garden designer, to showcase trees and shrubs. The present owner invites you to enter this tranquil setting and enjoy the peace for a little while. If you have brought a picnic he welcomes you to eat it here, but please take your rubbish home. Thank you.
LITTLE PARK NURSERY The Nursery was opened as a retail/wholesale producer of trees and shrubs in the early 70s and was acquired by us in 1986. As the nursery trade was changing rapidly due to supermarket and car boot competition it was eventually closed in May 1995. Since that time we have gradually turned the entire nursery into a garden, removing most of the production beds and creating a more open but sheltered garden. We have recently extended our vegetable protection area, which is necessary due to the severe damage to our crops that would otherwise result by rabbits, Muntjac deer, pheasants and pigeons. We are frequented by many pheasants, which also have an effect on what flowers we can successfully grow. Our speciality is Hostas and other hardy perennials; we also have well over 100 varieties of trees and shrubs throughout the grounds.
Car parking available
PHEASANTS PLACE What does one do with the garden when one moves into a 1960’s bungalow which is virtually in the churchyard of a beautiful, old country church? The move was in the 70’s and the bungalow was surrounded with stinging nettles and a few shrubs and not much else. Lacking an academic knowledge of flora, the garden developed over the years with a fairly haphazard purchase of plants (usually plants that we had enjoyed on our various visits here and abroad). There have been structures erected to provide the then growing family with play and sit-out areas and also a sauna and hot-tub. It is in a beautiful and peaceful situation and much loved.
RIVERSDALE A garden developed over 10 years from a meadow which has 2 key features: planting to attract a wide variety of birds and wildlife; and fruit and vegetable planting to ensure we are as self-sufficient as possible. We hope that Herbert Adams, a gardener who lived here for many years, till he died in 1990, would be proud of what we have done. We have a resident family of pheasants and a pair of mallards who each year produce 2 broods of ducklings by our larger pond plus visiting partridges.
We have a wide diversity of garden birds with large numbers of goldfinch, blue, great and long tailed tits, greenfinches, blackbirds, robins, dunnocks, chaffinches, collared doves plus smaller numbers of bullfinches, blackcaps, wrens, chiffchaffs, coal and marsh tits, fieldfares, redwings, stock doves ,yellow hammers, grey wagtails, greater spotted and green woodpeckers and occasionally siskins and redpolls. The planting is also designed with winter in mind with dogwoods for stunning colour, winter fruit bearing crab-apple trees and many berry bearing bushes. All this with an accent now on easier maintenance as we enjoy retirement. Come and enjoy our special place with us.
Against a backdrop of mature trees and bushes is a large, quiet garden for a young and growing family and a boisterous dog. This year the lady of the house has concentrated on her vegetable garden. Ice cream may be found here
THE VILLA Up at The Villa – the most recent house to be built in Flowton – you'll find a much-used family garden in progress where you can see George the family rabbit and view original artwork and jewellery for sale.
CORNER COTTAGE We inherited a good basic garden and over the past thirteen years have altered the layout and added more shrubs and perennials, always on the lookout for the unusual and half-hardy. Consequently the winter had taken its toll a little but we hope the June garden will be as good as the spring show has been. Here you will find tea, coffee & soft drinks – and a craft stall
MEADOWVIEW Over 34 years a green-fingered gardener has changed this garden to suit his circumstances. Here is a garden that can be maintained and enjoyed by an older gentleman. Despite the snails, and with the help of his bantams, he grows a wide variety of hostas. Here is a selection of hostas & a few bedding plants for sale – and ice cream!
We have lived here for 7 years and got to work on the garden straight away. Apart from the cherry and the plum tree and the front shrubbery, everything has been planted by us. As the garden is quite small I have tried to make it more three dimensional – hence the metalwork made by Kevin Colbear, or found at the dump. I have also swathed the house in plants to soften the house and allow it to blend into its surroundings. I enjoy collecting salvage and have a habit of painting everything blue. I also like blue flowers, grey foliage and everything is pretty low maintenance. The front lawn suffers from being a football pitch. The raised beds are used for growing vegetables and herbs as well as flowers for cutting. We encourage wildlife – hence the messy edges (no strimming allowed!!) with bird boxes and a hedgehog house. The next plan is to build an open sided shed and hopefully tempt some of next door’s swallows to nest in our garden. TYE VIEW COTTAGE Country garden at Tye View Cottage has been under steady development over the last 15 years. Reconstruction is ongoing. It comprises open views over the
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For further information ring 01473 658335 or email grahamfawcus@flowtonhall.co.uk