About the garden
Owned by
Alan and Alesia Clements
Cascades Gardens, the meditation garden and Bonsai centre, is designed within a spectacular 1.6ha (4 acre) natural landscape with cliffs and an old limestone quarry, a ruined corn mill, mill pond and mill race. In the wet season, the garden has many waterfalls, and you can hear the sound of water wherever you go. In the summer, the water becomes just a gentle trickle. The season starts with snowdrops and hellebores, and the spring garden with daffodils and tulips is a delight. The rugged landscape is the perfect backdrop for the flowers, blossom and roses in the early summer. There is a wide range of hardy perennials and unusual trees and shrubs and an extensive conifer border that continues to give shape and interest to the garden throughout the year.
Inspired by Japanese gardens and Buddhist philosophy, the gardens are unusually planted in a very natural style and are a pleasing combination of rocks, water and planting. There are quiet secluded areas to sit in, each designed differently around more than 15 Lutyens-style benches. There are winding paths and high viewpoints from the cliff and hillside. Some of these areas reflect the gardens the owner has viewed in Japan including a raked gravel (Karesansui) garden. All of them are very quiet and peaceful places and designed with meditation in mind.
A Japanese pool garden features a number of Japanese plants including many acers, Cryptomeria and ferns. There is also a Bonsai centre with Chinese trees, pots and tools to help those that are new to this fascinating and calming hobby. Cascades Gardens is a celebration of nature. The perfect place to relax, reflect and find peace of mind.
