Ballyrobert Gardens
RHS Partner Garden
Free RHS Member days
Free access (member 1 only for joint memberships) applies when open.
About the garden
Owned by the Parkinson family, Ballyrobert Gardens is a uniquely created Ulster Garden nestling in the countryside near Ballyclare, County Antrim, home to the famous Glens of Antrim and Antrim Coast Road. The setting for the garden is a 17th-century landscape complete with the original cottage, Irish barn and farm layout extending to 16 acres. Sensitively integrating the elements is a six-acre garden containing one of the province's most extensive collections of herbaceous plants, laid out in intimate settings and sweeping borders.
Ballyrobert Gardens has many delightful features such as the traditional entrance, fairy tree, hole tree and Celtic spiral. These sit together handsomely with the lake, stream, formal garden, orchard, meadows and woodlands. A Robinsonian-style garden, it appeared in 2016 on BBC TV's Breakfast programme as an exemplar of a naturalistic garden. It is an all-year-round garden and has a collection of more than 200 varieties of snowdrops. There is also an adjoining specialist plant nursery stocked with a large range of herbaceous plants.
Facilities
- Assistance dogs only
- DIY Refreshments
- Free carer entry
- Parking
- Picnic area
- Plant sales
- Toilets
Key features
- Herbaceous border
- Colour themed borders
- Cottage planting
- Prairie/naturalistic planting
- Wildlife planting and features
Get involved
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.