As part of National Gardening Week, Stillingfleet Lodge Garden Centre will have an Open Afternoon, with no admission charge, on Wednesday 18 April between 1.00 and 5.00 pm.
National Gardening Week has been initiated by the Royal Horticultural Society to encourage as many people as possible to digging/weeding/planting. The week runs from 16-22 April and there’ll be a host of other activities taking place to inspire and provide ideas to help everyone to get involved.
And Stillingfleet Lodge Garden Centre is the ideal place to visit if it’s inspiration you’re looking for. It has a variety of very different types of garden – from the structured rill garden, to a wildflower meadow, and there’s a woodland walk, a vegetable plot, a pear tree garden, a poultry run (yes, they keep chickens too – and there are some rare breeds), and a wildlife pond. There’s a coffee shop for when visitors need a break (try the homemade cake, it’s delicious), a playground to keep the kids happy, and a nursery with a large range of plants for sale.
Stillingfleet Lodge isn’t just a garden centre – it’s also home to Vanessa Cook who bought it as a run-down property in 1975, and has transformed the house and gardens into a delightful place to live, work and relax and, in so doing, a prime visitor attraction. Vanessa will be on hand during the Open Afternoon to answer questions about the plants in the gardens.
The Royal Horticultural Society is the country’s premier gardening charity – patron Her Majesty the Queen. Stillingfleet Garden Centre is one of a select group of RHS Partner Gardens and entry is free to RHS members.
The Garden Centre is open between 12 and 14 afternoons a month from April to September and the normal entry price for adults is £4.50. Find out more details of opening times, workshops and prices from their website.