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Partner Garden
Free access for RHS members at selected times

Dartington
Totnes
Devon
TQ9 6EL

Situated 1.4 miles from the market town of Totnes.

26 acres

Tel
01803 847150

Visit website

Opening Hours

9am–5pm, daily.

Admission

Please see website for admission prices.

RHS members

Free access (member 1 only for joint memberships) applies when open.

Facilities

  • Assistance dogs only
  • Baby changing facilities
  • Children’s play area
  • Children's activities
  • Free carer entry
  • Gift shop
  • Group rates
  • Parking
  • Picnic area
  • Plant sales
  • Refreshments
  • Toilets

Features

  • Champion trees
  • Cottage planting
  • Herbaceous border
  • Japanese garden
  • Sculpture
  • Woodland

About the garden

Owned by
The Dartington Trust

Experience a sense of tranquility at Dartington’s historical Grade II* listed gardens, which evolved under the stewardship of families including the Holands (1388– 1509), the Champernownes (1559– 1925), and the Elmhirsts (1925– 1968), aided by nationally and internationally renowned landscape architects and designers Henry Avray Tipping, Beatrix Farrand, and Percy Cane. Dartington Trust now looks after the gardens.

The 26 acres of formal grounds have been developed with a sense of natural wilderness, including a range of stunning features and beautiful vistas, with impressive sculptures, including the Henry Moore ‘Reclining Figure’, commissioned especially for the gardens in 1946. Rich in history and home to some of the most impressive champion trees in the region, the gardens boast a 1,500-year-old yew tree and a line of sweet chestnuts believed to be more than 400 years old. Visitors return to admire the stunning burst of colour at the Azalea Dell and the 80-metre long Sunny Border, lovingly created by Dorothy Elmhirst in 1928 and overlooking the impressive Tiltyard at the heart of the garden.

The gardens are accessible for wheelchair users and there is also a fun children’s activity trail, with hidden paths to explore, plus volunteer-led garden tours and plant sales on select days (see website for details and booking). The wider Dartington Estate has a gift shop, a Cider Press Centre, numerous cafés, a pub and restaurant, children’s play park, river walks, and 1,200 acres of grounds to explore. 

Please note: this garden is partially accessible.

Plants of special interest

  • Agapanthus
  • Alpines
  • Asters
  • Autumn bulbs
  • Bluebells
  • Camellias
  • Clematis
  • Conifers
  • Cornus (for winter stems or spring bracts)
  • Cut flowers
  • Cyclamen
  • Daffodils
  • Delphiniums
  • Ferns
  • Fruit blossom
  • Fruit bushes/trees
  • Fuchsias
  • Grasses
  • Heathers
  • Hellebores
  • Hemerocallis
  • Herbs
  • Hostas
  • Irises
  • Lavender
  • Lilies
  • Magnolias
  • Maple
  • Orchids
  • Primulas
  • Rhododendrons/azaleas
  • Roses
  • Shade-loving plants
  • Snowdrops
  • Spring bulbs
  • Sweet peas
  • Wildflowers
  • Wisteria

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.