PORTMEIRION GARDENS
Minffordd, Gwynedd. Wales. LL48 6ER www.portmeirion-village.com
INTRODUCTION Bring a pair of sensible shoes, plunge into the woodlands and enjoy the exoticism of the ‘Gwyllt’ (the wilderness). There are very few gardens that allow visitors to feel like real explorers - but Portmeirion does thanks to its 19 miles of pathways which cut through forests, secret spaces and coastal coves. And it’s magical - the towering trees, strange sculptures, pagodas and hidden lakes offer a kind of Alice in Wonderland experience. If you prefer something a little tamer, try the Victorian gardens at Castle Deudraeth or the Italian style piazza in the heart of the village. Whatever your passion, you’ll find it here.
Bristol Colonnade
Lavender
north wales garden festival Portmeirion will be just one of 24 Welsh gardens celebrating this festival from May 27 to June 11 this year. The dates were arranged to coincide with late-spring flowering displays of rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias, tulips and flowering cherries. And with long twilights, warmer temperatures and everywhere pulsating with new growth, there’s no better time to enjoy Portmeirion’s explosion of nature.
Y GWYLLT Portmeirion’s woodlands have long been overshadowed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis’ collection of colourful buildings – yet, the idea was always to show how a place of natural beauty could be developed without being spoilt. The 70 acres of woodland backing the village is a subtropical paradise populated by some of the country’s largest trees and rarest plants. Surviving and thriving due to their proximity to the Gulf stream, these exotic flora and fauna are a fantastical sight.
The Ghost Garden
Portmeirion has an impressive collection of Champion Trees.
Magnolias
Many of the unusual species found here predates Clough’s time. During the Victorian period, former tenants Henry Seymour Westmacott and later Sir William Fothergill Cook planted a mixture of monkey puzzle trees, pines, magnolias, camellias, giant redwoods as well as various rhododendrons on the estate. In fact, Cook, a celebrated botanist, destroyed the original Deudraeth Castle built in 1175, to prevent people from stomping on his beloved collections. By the turn of the 20th century, Caton Haig, a world authority on Himalayan flowering trees, continued Cook’s works of planting rare species in the woods, including our famous selection of rhododendrons.
Among the 70 varieties are the red-flowering, Portmeirion-bred cultivar rhododendron – otherwise known as the ‘Gwyllt King’. Cook also planted our magnificent magnolia campbellii with its enormous pink flowers, alongside several ginkgo bilobas, winter's bark and the willowlike maytenus boaria, which is probably the largest in Britain. Go past the oriental garden with its picturesque pagoda and lily covered lake to find secret sites like the dog cemetery, tangle wood and shelter valley with its giant leaved gunnera, an architectural plant from the Brazilian rainforest. The nearby ghost garden is so called after Clough discovered the lost grounds of an old ferry cottage. Alas, you won't find any spooks here - just a glut of eucalyptus, cortaderias and phormiums.
Azaleas
Dog Cemetry
Gwyllt King
WHITE SANDS Portmeirion is blessed with one of Britain’s best beaches. Explore below the cliffs of White Sands Bay to discover hidden caves, gullies and a flurry of interesting plants. The spindle tree, otherwise known as Euonymus Europaeus forms a thicket in one place, while pink gentians flower in another. Whitened by the wind and sea, old pine trunks lie on the shoreline, adding to the alluring ambience of the place. Continue to the coastal path towards the end of the peninsula to find native heather and the rarer evergreen shrub Ulex Gallii, which belongs to the pea family.Â
CASTLE DEUDRAETH This architectural wonder, once the home of a Victorian MP, is now a boutique hotel offering 11 contemporary styled rooms, two main dining areas and a stunning Victorian walled garden. Here, azaleas, tree peonies and cordylines flourish. Follow the white coats of our chefs and you’ll find a variety of herbs, including mint, thyme and chives. There is no entry fee to see this part of the estate.
The Victorian Garden
Herbaceous plants