RHS Garden Rosemoor

About the garden

Owned by

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

The RHS Garden at Rosemoor has proved a great success. When Lady Anne Palmer gave it to the Society in 1988, few people imagined that it would develop into such a major tourist attraction. The setting certainly helped - the Torridge valley is unusually wooded and sheltered - and Lady Anne's original garden was full of plants, but the achievement is largely due to the Society's good management and its original garden masterplan.

Rosemoor is now an all-year garden, with a great variety of designs, styles, plants and plantings in both its formal 'rooms' and in the more natural parts. It is therefore a good place for ideas and inspiration at every season. The winter garden is designed to show what can be done to fill a garden with colour and interest during the colder months. The alpine display house provides colour and interest all the year round. Two major features for the summer and autumn months are the Queen Mother's rose garden, for modern roses, and its companion shrub rose garden containing more than 200 cultivars. The two colour-themed formal gardens provide strong contrasts: the spiral garden has cool, soft, pastel colours while the square garden contains 'hot' plantings.

The cottage and herb gardens are more informal, but separated by the potager with its decorative vegetable planting. The foliage garden is especially good, and repays careful study, while the model gardens demonstrate three contrasting design solutions for the average domestic plot. Other attractions include the stream and bog garden; the lake; large areas of parkland; and the arboretum. More than 100 events, shows, workshops, lectures, demonstrations and gardens walks take place at Rosemoor all through the year: for details see the Society's website.