Bide-a-Wee Cottage Gardens
About the garden
The garden’s location is remarkable. A significant portion of the land is tucked away in a small, disused quarry site upon a 500ft ridge. The unique, two-acre site combines a landscape of rock and water, benefitting from enormous variations in aspect, topography and growing conditions. As a result, a variety of habitats can be found and a vast array of unusual plants thrive here.
The garden retains a historic identity, with nods to its former function visible throughout the garden. Natural rock walls are highlighted by evergreen conifers and contrasting hedging. A tearoom, offering home-baked cakes and scones, is located in a building that once served as a sawmill. The original quarry track is still in place, leading visitors to a pond in the shaded site that was once the quarry floor.
The garden is a National Plant Collection holder for Centaurea and specialises in unusual herbaceous perennials, including Cardiocrinum or giant Himalayan lily.
Facilities
- Assistance dogs only
- Plant sales
- Toilets
Key features
- Herbaceous border
- Pond or lake
- Autumn colour
- Cottage planting
- 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.