Richard Bloom's superb images of Wyken Hall provide our curtain-raiser for the 2022 season of open gardens for the National Garden Scheme. There are many more to inspire you...

Aren't gardens just glorious places to be on any day of the week? There's something so uplifting about standing under arching boughs of blossom, strolling across sweeping lawns, wandering around perfumed borders ablaze with colour and swaying softly in the breeze, watching bees and butterflies busy at work. It's a form of escape...

These images of the gardens at Wyken Hall, Stanton, by East Anglian photographer Richard Bloom, capture the gardens as they transition through spring into summer. Many of the county's gardens will be at their best in May and June so, not surprisingly, these are the peak months for openings under the National Garden Scheme, including Wyken.

Despite the restrictions of Covid-19, NGS open gardens donated more than £3 million to charities last year, only slightly down on 2019's figure of £3.1 million. Most of the money is generated by admissions at garden gates and through the sale of plants, tea and cakes, but online talks - born out of the pandemic - garden parties, special fundraising events and commercial partnerships.

Great British Life: Fritillaria meleagris growing in the lawn at Wyken Hall Garden, Wyken Vineyard.Fritillaria meleagris growing in the lawn at Wyken Hall Garden, Wyken Vineyard. (Image: GAP Photos/Richard Bloom)

Great British Life: Prunus 'Tai-haku', Great white Cherry. Wyken Hall Garden, April.Prunus 'Tai-haku', Great white Cherry. Wyken Hall Garden, April. (Image: GAP Photos/Richard Bloom)

Gardens are good for us in so many ways. So why not plan to see a few this year? You'll be helping to raise money for charity and you may get some inspiration for your own garden.

Wyken Hall
Stanton, IP31 2DW
Wyken is wonderful all year round but really comes into its own in spring and summer. The gardens are the vision and work of Kenneth and Carla Carlisle who have always placed conservation at the heart of everything they do. Four acres around the lovely old manor are landscaped into a series of themed gardens that have something of interest in every season. There's a superb knot garden, herb and kitchen gardens, an old-fashioned rose garden, a gazebo and maze, and wonderful herbaceous borders. There are also wilder areas, a nuttery, woodland walk, pond and and old orchard. Wyken also has the Leaping Hare restaurant, a shop, vineyard and farmers' market on Saturdays.
NGS open days are May 28 & 29 10am - 5pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Great British Life: Euphorbia characias ssp wulfenii in mixed borders at Wyken Hall Garden, April.Euphorbia characias ssp wulfenii in mixed borders at Wyken Hall Garden, April. (Image: GAP Photos/Richard Bloom)

Great British Life: Viburnum 'Eskimo' standards on the East terrace at Wyken Hall Garden, Suffolk.Viburnum 'Eskimo' standards on the East terrace at Wyken Hall Garden, Suffolk. (Image: GAP Photos/Richard Bloom)

Great Thurlow Hall
Haverhill CB9 7LF
Thirteen acres of beautiful gardens set around the River Stour, herbaceous borders, rose garden and extensive shrub borders, large walled kitchen garden and arboretum.
Open day: June 12, 2pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Helyg
Coney Weston, Bury St Edmunds IP31 1DN
A garden that combines planting and novel ideas, with many seats providing tranquillity and relaxation. Most of the garden is wheelchair accessible.
Open: July 17, July 11am - 4pm (booking essential). Adult: £5, child: Free
By arrangement between April and September for groups of 10 and 25.

The Place for Plants, East Bergholt Place Garden
East Bergholt CO7 6UP
Twenty-acre woodland garden, a fine collection of camellias, magnolias and rhododendrons, topiary, and the National Collection of deciduous Euonymus. Partial wheelchair access in dry conditions.
Open days: May 8, 2pm, October 9 1pm

Paget House
Middleton, Saxmundham IP17 3NY
Wildlife friendly with an orchard and vegetable plot, woodland, laid hedges, pond, wildflower meadow and an abstract garden sculpture by local artist Paul Richardson. Wheelchair access, gravel drive and mown paths.
Open day: May 1 and July 17, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £5, child: Free
By Arrangement May - September for groups of up to 30.

Moat House
Bury St Edmunds, IP29 5LE
Two-acre historic and partially moated site with sunken garden, rose and clematis arbours, herbaceous borders and small arboretum.
Open day: May 1, 1pm - 6pm. Adult: £5, child: Free
By arrangement April - July for groups of between 20 and 60.

Fullers Mill Garden
West Stow, IP28 6HD
Seven-acre garden on the banks of the river Lark. Rare and unusual shrubs, perennials and marginals, euphorbias and lilies are a particular feature. Partial wheelchair access.
Open days: May 8 and October 2, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £6, child: Free

Finndale House
Grundisburgh, Woodbridge, IP13 6UD
A Georgian house surrounded by 10 acres of garden and meadows bisected by a ‘Monet’ style bridge over the river. Mature trees, herbaceous borders, daffodils followed by tulips and alliums, roses and dahlias. Wheelchair access, gravel drive.
Open day: May 15, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £6, child: Free. This garden opens with Grundisburgh House. Pay one admission price and get entry to both gardens on that day.

Grundisburgh House
Grundisburgh, Woodbridge, IP13 6UD
Three-acre garden wrapping around classic Georgian house, wit natural swimming pond, formal garden, spring bulbs and fruit blossom, roses, irises and hydrangeas.
Pop-up art gallery in the old coach house open intermittently throughout the year. Wheelchair access.
Open day: May 15, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £6, child: Free

Great British Life: Tulipa 'Orange Emperor' and Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii in border at Wyken Hall Garden.Tulipa 'Orange Emperor' and Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii in border at Wyken Hall Garden. (Image: GAP Photos/Richard Bloom)

Great British Life: View over East Terrace to Rose Garden with Viburnum 'Eskimo' standards at Wyken Hall Garden.View over East Terrace to Rose Garden with Viburnum 'Eskimo' standards at Wyken Hall Garden. (Image: GAP Photos/Richard Bloom)

The Priory
Stoke by Nayland, Colchester, CO6 4RL
Interesting nine-acre garden with fine views over Constable countryside, lawns sloping down to small lakes and water garden, fine trees, rhododendrons and azaleas, walled garden, mixed borders and ornamental greenhouse. Wheelchair access over most of garden.
Open day: May 22, 2pm - 5pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Berghersh Place
Witnesham, Ipswich,
Peaceful walled and hedged gardens surround elegant Regency house (not open) among fields above the Fynn Valley. Circular walk from the farm buildings, around house with lawns and mature trees to a pretty view of the valley.
Open day: May 29, 12pm - 5pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Lavenham Hall
Lavenham, Sudbury, CO10 9QX
Five-acre garden built around the ruins of the original ecclesiastical buildings on the site and the village's fishpond. Perfect setting for the sculptures by owner Kate Denton. Mostly wheelchair accessible.
Open day: May 29, 10am - 4:30pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

The Red House
Aldeburgh, IP15 5PZ
The former home of renowned British composer Benjamin Britten and tenor Peter Pears. Five-acre gardens, herbaceous borders, kitchen garden, contemporary planting and a new summer tropical border. Wheelchair access.

Open days: June 2, 11am - 5pm (house and garden). Adult: £10, child: Free
August 29, 11am - 4pm (garden only)

Pulham Cottage
Stowmarket, IP14 3LQ
Cottage garden set in 1.5 acres, with a clipped box parterre, kitchen garden with flowers for cutting, orchard and wildflower areas to explore. Lots of seating to relax.
Open day: June 4, 11am - 5pm. Pre-booking essential. Adult: £5, child: Free

Holm House
Drinkstone, Bury St Edmunds, IP30 9FJ
Approximately 10 acres with orchard and lawns, clipped Holm Oaks, formal garden with topiary, parterre and mixed borders, rose garden, lake and wildflower meadow. Much of the garden is wheelchair accessible.
Open day: June 5, 10am - 5pm. Adult: £7, child: Free

Longlands Place
Washbrook, Ipswich, IP8 3EZ
The garden surrounds an early 17th century farmhouse (not open), more than 10 acres with trees and avenues, roses and a developing arboretum.
Open day: June 5, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Great British Life: Box and Yew topiary quincunx with forget-me-not and Tulipa 'White Triumphator' at Wyken Hall Garden.Box and Yew topiary quincunx with forget-me-not and Tulipa 'White Triumphator' at Wyken Hall Garden. (Image: GAP Photos/Richard Bloom)

Great British Life: Pleached Hornbeam trees underplanted with Teucrium x lucidrys at Wyken Hall Garden.Pleached Hornbeam trees underplanted with Teucrium x lucidrys at Wyken Hall Garden. (Image: GAP Photos/Richard Bloom)

Barton Mere
Great Barton, IP31 2PR
Fifty acres of parkland, extensive lawns with views over the Mere, rose garden and herbaceous borders, courtyards and large conservatory.
Open day: June 12, 1pm - 5pm

Great Bevills
Bures, CO8 5JW
Overlooking the Stour Valley the gardens surrounding an Elizabethan manor house are formal and Italianate in style with Irish yews and mature specimen trees. Terraces, borders, ponds and woodland walks.
Open day: June 5, 2pm - 5:30pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Leaven Hall
Leavenheath, Colchester, CO6 4PU
More than 15 acres with meadow, woodland, fruit cages, walled and cut flower gardens, established pond/bog garden, orchards with beehives.
Open days: June 8, 15 & 22, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £7, child: Free

Magnolia House
Yoxford, IP17 3EP
Small romantic walled garden, originally designed by Mark Rumary, arranged in a series of rooms and planted to provide year-round colour, scent and horticultural interest. Includes a King James Mulberry, raised Moorish-style pond and library garden.
Open day: June 11, 11am - 4pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

The Old Rectory, Nacton
Nacton, IP10 0HY
Just under two acres of garden divided into areas for different seasons - mature trees and herbaceous borders, herb/picking garden, rose garden.
Open day: June 12, 10am - 4:30pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Ashe Park
Campsea Ashe, Woodbridge, IP13 0QB
In the 400 years of this 12 acre garden’s existence it has gone through many changes. Canals, massive cedar trees, yew hedges, walled garden and many more features.
Open day: June 12, 11am - 4:30pm. Adult: £6, child: Free

Smallwood Farmhouse
Bradfield St George, Bury St Edmunds, IP30 0AJ
Traditional cottage planting and contemporary styles. Old English roses, a profusion of clematis and honeysuckle, perennials, two natural ponds and gravel garden.
Open day: June 12, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Brambly Hedge
Beccles, NR34 7DE
A garden of contrasts and surprises. Huge variety of shrubs and trees, raised-bed potager, many seats dotted around.
Open day: June 18, 11am - 4pm. Adult: £3.50, child: Free

Hillside
Semer, Ipswich, IP7 6HN
This garden in its historic setting of 10.5 acres has sweeping lawns running down to a spring fed carp pond. Formal garden, wild area, woodland, small walled kitchen garden.
Open day: June 19, 11am - 4pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

The Old Rectory, Kirton
Kirton, Ipswich, IP10 0PT
Traditional English garden with mixed flower borders, mature trees, including varieties of oak, rose and lavender border.
Open day: June 19, 12pm - 6pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Heron House
Aldeburgh, IP15 5EP
Two acres with superb views over the North Sea, River Alde and marshes. Unusual trees, herbaceous beds, shrubs and ponds, stream and bog garden.
Open day: June 19, 2pm - 5pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Polstead Mill
Polstead, Colchester, CO6 5AB
Formal and informal areas, a wildflower meadow and a large productive kitchen garden. The River Box runs through the garden and there is a mill pond.
Open Day: June 19, 2pm - 5pm. Adult: £7, child: Free

Woodland Drive Gardens
Bungay, NR35 1PE
Gardens in a quiet cul-de-sac on the outskirts of Bungay. Different in style and planting, all share wonderful views over the Waveney Valley.
Open day: June 23, 11am - 4pm. Adult: £5

5 Parklands Green
Bury St Edmunds, IP28 6UH
Mature and unusual trees and shrubs, and riotous herbaceous borders. Explore the maze of paths to find four informal ponds, a treehouse, the sunken garden, greenhouses and woodland walks.
Open day: June 26, 11am - 4pm. Adult: £5, child free.

Lillesley Barn
Kersey, Ipswich, IP7 6ED
Dry gravel garden (inspired by the Beth Chatto Garden), Mediterranean plants, ornamental grasses, herbs and collection of succulents. Large herbaceous borders, rose arbours and small orchard with poultry.
Open day: June 26, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £5, child: Free. This garden opens with Old Gardens, Kersey. Admission price admits entry to both gardens on that day.

Old Gardens
Kersey, Ipswich, IP7 6ED
Entered from The Street, a natural garden with wildflowers under a copper beech tree. To the rear, a formal garden designed by Cherry Sandford with a sculpture by David Harbour.
Open day: June 26, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

White House Farm
Beccles, NR34 8JU
Tranquil park-type garden, 30 acres, bordered by farmland and with fine views. Formal areas, copses, natural pond, woodland walk, vegetable garden and orchard. Picnickers welcome.
Open day: July 2, 10am - 4:30pm. Adult: £6, child: Free

Wenhaston Grange
Halesworth, IP19 9HJ
Over three acres of varied gardens, long herbaceous borders, old established trees and a series of garden rooms created by beech hedges.
Open day: July 10, 11am - 4pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Squires Barn
Harleston, IP20 0PA
A young and evolving garden of three acres, with orchard, cutting and kitchen garden, greenhouse, large ornamental pond, wildflower area, willow spiral, mixed planting and trees.
Open day: July 17, 10:30am - 4pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

The Old Rectory
Ingham, Bury St Edmunds, IP31 1NQ
Vibrant colourful flower display with dahlias, geraniums, insect-friendly borders and lawns. Lavender walk and parterre. Wide variety of mature trees.
Open day: July 24, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £4, child: Free

Great British Life: Fritillaria imperialis 'Aurora' and Tulip 'Orange Emperor'.Fritillaria imperialis 'Aurora' and Tulip 'Orange Emperor'. (Image: GAP Photos/Richard Bloom)

Great British Life: The Kitchen Garden at Wyken Hall Garden, Suffolk.The Kitchen Garden at Wyken Hall Garden, Suffolk. (Image: GAP Photos/Richard Bloom)

The Rooks
Claydon, Ipswich, IP6 0AL
The garden surrounds a thatched cottage built c1600. Two ponds, mixed borders, trees, statues and features.
Open day: July 24, 11am - 4pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Batteleys Cottage
Wortham, Diss, IP22 1ST
A varied one-acre garden with winding bark paths, light and shade, secluded spots to sit, a wealth of bird life, densely planted borders as well as pots, sculptures, meadow, ponds, stream and vegetable areas.
Open day: July 24, 11:30am - 4:30pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Somerleyton Hall Gardens
Somerleyton, NR32 5QQ
Twelve acres of beautiful gardens with specimen trees, shrubs, borders and plants, sweeping lawns, formal gardens, statuary and original Victorian glasshouses, pergola, walled garden and yew hedge maze.
Open day: August 2, 11am - 3pm. Adult: £7, child: £5.25

Gislingham Gardens
Gislingham, IP23 8JT
Two varied gardens in a picturesque village. Ivy Chimneys has ornamental trees, topiary, exotic borders and fishpond set in an area of Japanese style, wisteria draped pergola, ornamental vegetable garden, small orchard on front lawn. New 12 Chapel Farm Close is a tiny garden, exquisitely planted and an absolute riot of colour - Catalpa, a Cornus Florida Rubra and many unusual plants.
Open day: August 6, 11am - 4:30pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Bridges
Woolpit, Bury St Edmunds, IP30 9SA
Grade II 15th century terraced house in the centre of the village with walled garden. Main formal feature is the Shakespeare Garden featuring the bust of Shakespeare, and the 'Umbrello' a recently constructed pavilion in an Italianate design.
Open day: August 28, 11am - 5pm. Adult: £5, child: Free

Henstead Exotic Garden
Henstead, Beccles, NR34 7LD
Two-acre exotic garden featuring 100 large palms, 20+ bananas and giant bamboo, some of biggest in the UK. Streams, 20ft tiered walkway, Thai style pavilion, Mediterranean and jungle plants, three large fish ponds.
Open day: August 28, 11am - 4pm. Adult: £5, child: £1

Please check details with the NGS website before setting off: ngs.org.uk

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