Birkheads Secret Gardens

About the garden

Birkhead's Secret Gardens is a hillside garden, located three miles from the Angel of the North, with open valley views and overlooking the Beamish Open Air Museum. The gardens have been designed and built by the owners since 1990, who have transformed an open field into biodiverse habitats for wildlife with year-round interest. 

Visitors can explore a formal garden near the house, complete with a tea terrace; a cottage garden featuring a natural puddled clay pond; and a woodland area showcasing a small collection of interesting trees, such as Sorbus, Malus, and Prunus. The No-Dig border features an array of bulbs, hardy geraniums, and paeonies.

Additional highlights include a wildflower meadow, an orchard, a Japanese-style Meditation Garden, a circular Bee and Butterfly Garden, a Beach Garden with bulbs and grasses and a plantaholics garden, featuring plants collected over 30 years. The unusual hardy plant nursery was established during the design’s stage to grow plants several years before the garden was opened.