The Gardens at Rhosygilwen
From serving as a stunning backdrop for weddings and celebrations, to providing fresh seasonal produce for the kitchen, the gardens at Rhosygilwen are abundant with life throughout the changing seasons.
Guests are welcome to explore The Walled Garden, Victorian glasshouse, and arboretum, all fabulously restored, landscaped and maintained.
The Arboretum
- Sequoia sempervirens
- Taxus baccata
- Araucana araucana
- Liriodendron tulipifera acer
- Quercus
- Rhododendron
- Magnolia
- Pieris varieties
- Prunus laurocerasus and lusitanica
- Berberis
- Gingko biloba
- Liquidamber styraciflua
- Cercidophyllum japonicum
- Parrotia persica
- Arbutus
- Garrya
- Cornus
- Euomymous
The Walled Garden
The traditional Victorian walled garden would have supplied the mansion with fruit, vegetables and flowers, and we are very proud to have a fully working kitchen garden once again.
With wheelchair accessible paths, everyone can experience delights for all the senses in the redbrick walled garden. Discover apples, plums, pears, cherries, apricots and peaches around the walls and wonder at the original Victorian fig tree. Types of fruit not grown by the Victorians, such as kiwi fruit and blueberries have been introduced alongside the more traditional strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, red and white currants. Organic vegetables are grown year round and the Victorian cutting beds have been reinstated to provide flowers to the mansion.
The Walled Garden changes substantially with the seasons. It is productive year round. There is even a crop of sunflowers and Amaranthus grown for feeding birds over the winter.
We offer tours of the Walled Garden to gardening clubs across the country. You will get to meet our gardener, John, and learn all about how he tends to the seasonal and year-round crops. You’ll even get a nice cup of tea as well!
Meet John, our Gardener
John is our intrepid gardener. He makes sure the Walled Garden is producing seasonal crops throughout the year and tends to the grounds to keep our flora and fauna flourishing.
When you host your wedding, event or retreat at Rhosygilwen, you will likely to see John toiling away. So come over and say “hi!”. He’s more than happy to talk to you about what he’s growing right now and next month.
John also meets with local gardening clubs and offers detailed tours of the Walled Garden and the Glasshouse. There’s also a cup of tea available to anyone interested in our seasonal produce.
Sustainability is a Rhosygilwen fundamental.
History of Rhosygilwen
Rhosygilwen was home to Major General Thomas Fredrick Colby (1784-1852), the man Lord Nelson tasked with developing the ordnance survey of Britain.
The mansions and garden had their grand heyday in Victorian times, before falling into disrepair in the 1930s from neglect. It was left abandoned for decades.
The rescue operation of the gardens started in earnest in the early 2000s with weed clearing, path creation and more planting. We are extremely proud of where we are today and are committed to improving biodiversity and creating a magical experience for our guests.
The Glasshouse
