Ellicar Gardens are tucked away down a quiet lane on the edge of the low lying Gringley Carrs. While our gardens are easily accessible, when you arrive, you’ll be met by an oasis of calm. They’re a sanctuary for visitors and a haven for wildlife.
Once a farmstead, our family gardens are set amongst farmland and blend perfectly with their surroundings - a 7-acre field sits at the back of Ellicar Gardens and is home to our menagerie of rare breed farm animals. Elsewhere in the 5-acre gardens, you’ll find our friendly Golden Guernsey goats and a couple of curious llamas, while Pekin chickens, guinea fowl and a pair of giant Toulouse geese roam freely.
The gardens are a treat for the senses whatever time of year you choose to visit. Whether winter or summer, garden lovers and wildlife enthusiasts alike will be delighted. With vibrant borders bursting with beautiful plants, specimen trees, fragrant shrubs and carpets of bulbs, the gardens transform with the seasons.
Expect to see blossom and bulbs in spring; naturalistic borders and flower meadows packed with pollinators in summer; glorious grasses, blazing leaves and berries in autumn; and a sepia landscape in winter, with borders left standing amid swathes of coloured Cornus and willows.
Beautiful, ecologically friendly planting schemes support an abundance of diverse wildlife too. Keep your eyes peeled, and you might spot our resident kingfisher who regularly visits our natural pool.
Our natural swimming pool is the focal point of Ellicar Gardens. It draws you in and is a magnet for wildlife. You’re welcome to sit and relax while you watch swallows dip and dragonflies dart by. Or why not join us at one of our wild swimming events.
And what better way to finish your day than with a pit stop in our tearoom to enjoy our delicious home-baked cakes – the only difficulty will be which one to choose! It’s the perfect place to refuel before visiting the plant yard where you’ll discover unusual plants, gardening tools and gifts. So, you can take home a slice of Ellicar Gardens.
There’s so much to explore one visit is rarely enough.
At the heart of the gardens is our magical, award-winning natural swimming pool - the focal point of family life and showcase for our work as natural pool and living water specialists.
The pool's crystal clear water is chemical free, biologically filtered and purified with water plants. Exquisite water lilies flower in summer, colourful marginals fringe the edges from spring until autumn and in winter the pool is a huge sky mirror.
It's a magnet for wildlife too. You can relax beside the water with a cup of tea and watch birds bathing, dragonflies darting and swallows dipping in summer. And you may even glimpse our resident kingfisher who likes to perch on a deck chair.
After exploring the gardens, our tearoom is the perfect place to refuel and relax with a cup of tea or pot of real coffee, and choose from our selection of delicious, home baked cakes. You can sit and browse through gardening magazines inside or wander outside and enjoy your refreshments on our sunny terrace overlooking the rose garden.
Our tearoom is a great meeting place to catch up with friends and chat with other like-minded visitors and gardeners.
We stock a range of tried and tested, hand forged gardening tools, bespoke gardening equipment and gardening workwear. Plus handmade soaps and hand creams for gardeners along with artisan crafted local produce including Gringley honey - ideal gifts for fellow gardeners.
Please ask for a tool demonstration. We’re very enthusiastic about our garden tools and the only stockists in the UK for the incredible de Tuinheeren warren hoe which turns weeding from a chore into a pleasure.
We have an interesting range of grasses, perennials, herbs along with unusual shrubs available for you to browse and purchase.
We source and contract grow plants for your garden and supply trees during the tree planting season too. Plants are sourced direct from our trusted UK growers so you can be sure of their excellent quality.
Contact us to discuss your garden project.
Throughout the year we have an exciting range of workshops and events including willow weaving, Christmas wreath making, wild swimming, goat yoga and garden yoga.
If you're keen to learn more about gardening and planting design why not join us on one of our garden masterclasses which include Plants for Shade, Glorious Grasses, Wildlife Gardening, Naturalistic Planting, and Wildlife Ponds.
For those wishing to learn more about natural pools and biological water filtration check out our specialist natural pool masterclass with Garden Masterclasses
Groups and coach parties are welcome to visit on our regular open days, or by arrangement on other days of the week, from February through to November.
We welcome your group with a short talk about the gardens or can give a full accompanied tour. Refreshments available range from tea, coffee and home baked cakes to light lunches.
You’re welcome to explore the gardens at your leisure and enjoy discovering our wildlife and meeting our friendly animals. Please contact us to book a date and discuss your group's requirements.
Ellicar Gardens is a unique venue, available to hire for your special event. In the past we’ve hosted charity events, specialist workshops, painting and photography classes, small groups, garden parties, school visits, a wedding, corporate events, business meetings and wild swimming days.
Our tearoom is equipped with WIFI and a projector and we cater for your group with teas and light refreshments as well as delicious picnic lunches and buffets served in the gardens.
Please contact us to discuss your requirements.
If you have a question or would like to book a visit, please get in touch
Sat Nav brings you to our gate. For those coming from Misterton, ignore your sat nav and drive to the village of Gringley on the Hill, turn left onto Leys Lane, follow the road out of the village for about 1.5 miles and we are situated on the left, the last obvious property opposite a cream house on the right. Look out for the swing signs at our gate.
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