Llandough Castle gardens to open early May

By Ellyn Wright 10th Apr 2021

The gardens at Llandough Castle will be open 7-9 May, through the National Garden scheme.

Visitors can pre-book their timeslots to explore the four-acre grounds, with the money raised going towards charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, and Hospice UK.

The gardens have been lovingly restored to glory by Rhian Rees over the last nine years, who lives in the renovated castle and is a landscape designer by trade.

"When we moved in, all the original gardens had been lost," Rhian told Nub News.

"There was an old Victorian swimming pool, which we changed into a natural pond with a waterfall.

"Where the old garages were, that's now a potager garden with herbs and flowers.

"Then there's hedges and formal lawns, and the other half of the garden is a natural woodland.

"We've been doing a lot of tree planting to replace the ash that died back in the woodland," she said.

A lot of hard work, dedication and 80,000 blooming bulbs later, the gardens were opened to the public in 2018.

Rhian confessed to feeling anxious at first.

"I didn't know what to expect at all and I was really nervous because your own garden is so personal," she said.

"But everybody had such a nice time.

"This year, we have spread it out over three days rather than two and we've got car parking sorted.

"We can control the numbers with booking, so it's only about thirty people in an hour."

The gardens allow separate households to meet for a socially-distanced catch-up as they wander the grounds, and families are welcome to bring picnics.

Rhian has also organised a coffee van to visit, offering tea, coffee and cakes, as well as local crafters exhibiting their work.

"There's a sculpture trail through the woodlands, so there's little wire birds and rabbits for children to explore and find, as well as a 'beast' and a willow spider that I put in the woods," she said.

"I feel quite passionately about trying to help these charities.

"They've lost so much money in the last year because no events been able to go ahead, so no fundraising could take place.

"I want to do it so we can raise as much money as we can, as the money is needed more than ever."

To book your visit, click here

     

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