Gardens

The Millennium Garden, designed by the award-winning garden designer Piet Oudolf, features a striking array of colourful perennials and grasses. The garden has recently been replanted and is the first of Piet's gardens that he has redesigned. It's a popular spot for butterflies and a hunting ground for food for many varieties of bird.

Gardeners World visited the  Millennium Garden in August 2011

The strong structural features of the native Oaks and Birches, and dark yew hedging in the Wave Garden are complemented by lush ferns and meandering paths, and the stunning views from the newly landscaped Sunny Bank contrast with the boggy woodland and reedbeds that border part of the garden.

Evolving from the original Butterfly Garden, the new Wildlife Habitat Garden has been planted to provide for the specific habitat requirements of a variety of wildlife - from Dragonflies to Bats, Stag Beetles to Amphibians. Using techniques that could be equally well adopted by visitors at home, fragrant shrubs have been planted to attract Moths and Bats; a Bird Bank provides a necessary nesting site and food source for avian visitors, whilst log piles encourage Stag Beetles and assorted bug life. Orange tip Butterflies and cowslips abound.

Subtly utilising the flood plain of the beautiful River Wensum, the Wildflower Meadow is carefully mown, and the Norfolk Horn Sheep graze the meadow each Autumn, to preserve the poor soil quality so beloved by wildflowers, but the area has never been cultivated or sprayed. Key attractions in the Meadow include a wonderful mix of Orchids, the Cuckoo Flower, Marsh Thistle and Devil's-bit Scabious. Barn Owls quarter the field for voles; Little Egrets hunt for froglets and the damp grass is an ideal place to find Sloe Worms.

Together the Gardens offer the visitor unparalleled options to explore the myriad delights of the countryside, utilising the best of both traditional and modern techniques, and varying levels of horticultural management.