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Seaforde Gardens

RHS Partner Garden
Seaforde Gardens

Free access for RHS Members when open

Seaforde
Downpatrick
BT30 8PG
Northern Ireland

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Free RHS Member days
When open

About the garden

Seaforde Gardens are situated within the historic demesne of Seaforde in County Down, which has been a family home for almost 400 years. The hidden, microclimate gardens boast Ireland’s oldest living hornbeam maze and support an illustrious collection of plants. Several of these plants have been carefully collected from around the globe, including China, Vietnam, India and Australasia, thanks to the travels of keen plantsman Patrick Forde.

The gardens feature an arboretum containing champion trees and rare species. Seaforde holds a National Collection of Eucryphias, with more than 20 glorious species and cultivars grown on site. It is also home to some of the very first Sequoiadendron giganteum to be grown in Ireland during the 1850s and 1860s. Planted under the direction of the Rt Hon. Colonel William Forde MP, these stately giants can be found in the Pheasantry. One champion tree in the Pheasantry is the formidable, vertically branched Crimean pine, which stands more than 100ft in height.

Facilities

  • Assistance dogs only
  • Accessible garden
  • Children’s play area
  • Parking
  • Toilets

Key features

  • Arboretum
  • National Plant Collections

Get involved

The RHS is the UK’s gardening charity, helping people and plants to grow - nurturing a healthier, happier world, one person and one plant at a time.