We believe that nurturing strong, healthy plants and working with nature is the secret to a beautiful garden.
We use peat-free compost in our gardens and for our Haddon Plant Range; use seaweed and organic manure from our farms to feed our plants; use nematodes and encourage natural predators to deal with pest and disease and hand-weed carefully between the Elizabethan stones and walls.
Within the Hall itself we strive to creatively use living plants instead of cut flowers to breathe life into this incredible 900 year-old home. Plants such as Primrose, Narcissus, Foxglove, Daisies, Lilies and Dahlia are raised with care by our Gardens Team and used to illuminate the ancient spaces within the Hall and Chapel.
We are inspired by the Medieval and Elizabethan love of gardens and plants and seek to tell their stories in the gardens at Haddon. As examples of these, visitors can witness the flowery mead, topiary, borders, Knot Garden, bowling lawns and walkways. The spirit of place in the gardens is as much about the dramatic stone used to form the terraces and buttresses as it is about the plants that soften their edges. We aim for a balanced approach to where we intervene, and where we leave corners with a little moss, or the odd fern to retain a timeless feel.