The garden surrounds the ancient Manor House. It is adjacent to the village of Cranborne and approached through the Garden Centre (1) Walk through into the walled kitchen garden (2) which is divided into four parts with apples in espalier under-planted with alpine strawberries. The path leads you towards the entrance to the Manor Garden. On either side each section is divided into four – one is flowers for picking, another is a collection of lavenders, the third is filled with vegetables round a circle of artichokes, and the last is full of sunflowers, under-planted with annual wild flowers.

Walled kitchen garden – lavenders (2)	“Druid” facing the Manor House (3)

Leaving the kitchen garden, you meet “Druid” (3) a life size bronze White Park bull (Nicola Toms 2003) standing at the top of the garden facing the house. Throughout the spring and summer, cowslips, ox-eye daisies and many wild orchids grow through the uncut grass. Anemones, grape hyacinths and cyclamen carpet the beech tree roots.

From Druid you get your first glimpse of the Manor House, (5) originally one of King John’s hunting lodges. He was reputed to have owned 22 houses in Cranborne Chase and was addicted to hunting. Early in the 17th Century, King James 1st granted the Manor to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury in recognition of his role in engineering the peaceful transition of Tudor to Stuart when James came south from Scotland to claim the English throne.

As the house was almost in ruins, Salisbury employed John Norden to make a general survey of the property. The remodelling began in 1608: the work included the south east tower, new mullioned windows, the north and south porches, the Jacobean decorations on the buttresses, and the south courtyard with its brick gatehouses.

View of the gatehouses from the south porch with Angela Connor water sculpture (4)

The gatehouses, flanked by two stone elephants lead into the South Front (4). Mixed shrubs, climbing and shrub roses, clematis, herbaceous perennials and early spring bulbs fill the borders which surround a grass circle in which stands an Angela Connor water sculpture. This peaceful and private garden is often closed to visitors, so contact the Garden Centre to check access.

Retrace your steps through the gatehouses and take the path above the croquet lawn passing a copy of an Italian Renaissance wild boar and a head “In Memoriam” (6) by Elizabeth Frink c.1995.

Elizabeth Frink head “In Memoriam” (6)	Sundial standing on top of the mount (7)

Follow the path round to the right leading into the Sundial garden (7). In the early 17th century, it was the fashion to view the nearby parterres from a raised mound. This mound is often referred to in contemporary records but does not appear on either of the surviving original plans. It is, however, traditionally believed to have been laid out by Salisbury’s garden designer John Tradescant during the reign of James 1st. Eight box-edged beds surround the mount. Four, the closest, are long and narrow and filled with “Hidcote” lavender. The four larger outer beds are directly in proportion to the whole and are filled with roses, clematis, peonies and salvias and a number of hardy geraniums. Drum-shaped yew trees stand sentinel surrounding the entrance to the mount which is topped by a stone sundial.

To the North through the yew hedge is the Bowling Allee (8) stretching the length of the croquet lawn. A fashionable feature of Jacobean gardens, this allee was part of John Tradescant’s original layout and the yews are amongst the oldest in the garden.

Returning to the croquet lawn (9) midway along the allee, pass between two large yew houses planted in 1989. Although now tall enough, it will be several years before their final shapes are complete. Across the lawn on the south corner is the Lump Garden (10) redesigned by Lord Salisbury and is a collection of massed box and yew clipped into geometric shapes.

Take the path leading away from the lawn on the north side. You pass the West border (11) filled a collection of philadelphus, tree peonies, daphnes and lilac. This takes you down to the Winterborne Garden (12) which is at its best in April and early May with a mass of daffodils, cherry, apple, and crab blossom and with the winterborne, the River Crane, still flowing vigorously. The yew hedge marks the bottom of the garden.

Daffodils along the winterborne (12)	The entrance to the North Garden (13)

Cross the river carefully over the plank bridge and turn right. Walk to the bridge. Behind you is “The Close” up which an avenue of Cornish elms used to grow until they caught the Dutch Elm disease. They were replaced in 1973 by London Plane trees which have not thrived. Gradually, they in their turn are being replaced with lime trees.

There is a good view of the north side of the Manor behind the iron gates in front of you. Go through them and you enter the White garden. (13) which remains substantially the same as when it was first laid out in the early 20th century: its central path is flanked by ancient espalier-trained apple trees, thickly under- planted with white dianthus. The borders under the walls are filled with white flowering scented shrubs and roses. This garden is a stunning sight in mid to late June.

Leave the north garden by the door on the east side of the terrace, down some steps, and turn left if you wish to see the chickens, a mixed collection of bantams and large fowl, or right to go down the Church Walk. (14)

Bantam collection in front of their villas	Naturalised tulips in the orchard

In the early spring, the Church Walk is planted up with tulips forget-me-nots sweet williams and wallflowers and is lined with bellis. Later, after there is no danger of further frosts, the scented geraniums mixed with sweet-smelling acidanthra, nicotiana affinis, echium “Blue Bedder” are planted while perennials like sidalcea “Elsie Hueys” and agapanthus take over from the spring annuals. This later planting comes to a peek in mid August.

Half way down the border, look to your left. An apple tunnel runs from the bottom of stone steps; under it are planted narcissi “Thalia” in the spring and then allium “Christophii” and nepeta. Continue down the church walk towards the iron gate into the churchyard (locked) where it meets a pergola. The walk is now planted with mixed perennials: hostas, michaelmas daisies, anchusa and delphiniums.

In the orchard (15) naturalised red tulips grow through the grass and are rather a special sight. Fruit trees line the walls and an overflow of vegetables including winter brassicas and purple-sprouting broccoli grow inside the netted cages, protecting them from the pigeons.

Spring bedding down the church walk (14)	The pergola covered with moschata roses

Leaving the walled orchard, pass the Pergola (16) on your right. It runs parallel to the church walk and is lined with Iris “Jane Phillips” and covered with climbing roses including several Rosa Moschatas, “Blush Rambler”, and Rosa “Princess Marie”. With the stables on your left, approach the chalk wall and turn right along the gravel path and immediately left up the grassy bank towards “Druid”.

Go through the beech hedge into the Green Garden (18) and follow the enfilade through the Chalk Walk with its double herbaceous borders (19) and finally into the Herb garden (20) The herb garden was designed in the 60s. Eight standard “Lonicera Belgica” the early Dutch honeysuckle, form a circle in the centre, around which there are eight beds, edged in “Santolina Incana” and filled with Gallica roses and low-growing herbs.

The door takes you through to the Garden Centre and car park.

The Chalk Walk (19)	The Herb garden (20)

This garden has evolved over the years, each generation adding their bit. Les Dinan, the head gardener presides. With his brother Chris, he is responsible for it being the garden it is today. With the help of part-time students in the summer, they manage to maintain all the hedges, grow vegetables, prune, clip, mow, and keep the weeds at bay. The winter is the time for projects and the moment when we get down to our programme of mulching successively with leaf mould and farmyard manure. This year, for the benefit of our visitors, we made a big effort to label the roses as well as the more interesting shrubs and plants. Sadly many of the labels were stolen. So please respect our efforts to make your visits enjoyable as well as informative.