Beggars Knoll Garden, Wiltshire

This June we went to visit a fascinating garden near Westbury, Wiltshire.I wondered what such a garden would look like as it's near Westbury White Horse and is a very steep area, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.


As we entered, we were given a map of the garden and on the reverse of the map were descriptions of the garden and its history. One of the first things we find out is that while the family have only been in charge of the garden since the millenium, they have been developing the garden since 1942. Prior to the millenium, the majority of the garden was grass and fruit trees - as you will see in the photos that follow, the have done an amazing job in the past 14 years.

We headed  to the highest point of the garden in an attempt to get the most strenuous part out of the way first. It was definitely worth it:

 Looking down on the garden from this point gave us a preview of what we could expect as we explored the lower parts of the garden:

The garden is divided into 19 different areas and lots of them have epic names, such as: Garden of 10,000 shadows, Scholar's Garden, and the Listening-to-Thrushes Garden!

As well as copious planting, the garden has lots of interesting features, such as lamp shades hung from trees, and statues like this Buddha.

There are also some amazing set pieces that bring character to the garden, as well as tranquil places to rest and enjoy the surroundings.

There are also some interesting floral additions to the garden, including what is probably Paeony lactiflora 'Bowl of Beauty' and what I initially thought was a Giant Herb Robert, but agree with a suggestion on iSpot that it's probably Geranium palmatum.

But it was also nice to see some wildlings too, in the form of this Common Spotted Orchid and beautiful Scarlet Tiger; which I was lucky to photograph as it was so far away!

When we visited it was open for the day to raise funds for Macmillan. However, the garden is also open under the NGS scheme, so if you're planning to visit the area in the near future - or if you live in the area and have never been - do look out for open days and visit this wonderful garden.