The Best Daffs in Norfolk – perfect for Mum on Mothering Sunday
Hoveton Hall Gardens open day on Sunday 18th March
With over a hundred different varieties of daffodils creating an extravagant spring display, the place to take mum on Mothering Sunday is
Hoveton Hall Gardens, near Wroxham. The Gardens are open from 10.30am until 5.00pm and all mums who visit will get a special gift.
“There are thousands of wild daffodils in a continuous drift going from the Walled Gardens right up to the Hall itself, with other varieties naturalised among them,” says Hoveton’s head horticulturalist Stewart Wright. “The species on view range from old-fashioned favourites such as ‘Van Sion’ (introduced into England around 1620) and Narcissus x incomparabilis, also known as the Nonesuch, to the larger flowered modern hybrids, doubles and split-corona types.
“One unusual variety we have in abundance is ‘Edward Buxton’, an early 20th century species which was named after a member of the Buxton family. It has soft yellow petals and a striking orange cup.”
Stewart Wright believes that Hoveton has the best collection of daffodils in Norfolk, and one of the best in the UK. “If you want to see daffodils, there’s nowhere like it – not only because of the variety and number, but also because of the spectacular setting.”
The Mothering Sunday event is a one-off, as the Gardens don’t officially open until April 1st – by which time many of the daffodils will be over for the year. Entry is £7 per adult and £3.50 for children aged 4 and over. With nearly twenty acres to explore, there is plenty for the whole family to enjoy. The tea rooms will be open and visitors can also buy plants. Mums will be able to take home their gift, a potted miniature daffodil in a choice of varieties.
“The middle of March is a wonderful time to see nature really coming to life again in the Gardens,” says Stewart Wright. “The earliest varieties among our rhododendron collection will be in bloom, as well as other spring flowering shrubs and herbaceous plants such as pulmonarias and hellebores. It’s a good opportunity to look for some harbingers of the warmer weather, including Brimstone, Comma and Peacock butterflies and to hear the first returning migrant birds, such as Chiff-chaff and Blackcap, singing in the woods.”
Hoveton Hall Gardens is one of Norfolk’s best kept secrets. It offers a rare mixture of experiences for gardeners, walkers and families – on the one hand there are the woodlands, the water garden, with its natural tunnels, bridges, nooks and crannies, and the park. On the other are the walled garden, with its unique spider gate, the kitchen garden, the 18th century ice well and the early 19th century glass house.
Harry Buxton, Estate Manager Hoveton Hall Gardens
07825 517647; harry@hoveton.wanadoo.co.uk
Set at the edge of the Norfolk Broads, Hoveton Hall Gardens is a delightful mix of formal and informal planting across the seasons. The Hall itself (which is not open to the public), was built between 1809 and 1812 is attributed to Humphry Repton. The walled Kitchen Garden and layout of the ‘Spider Garden’ are shown on maps as early as 1841. Extensive work to the Water Gardens was carried out in the 1920s, by Geoffrey Buxton, and much of the collection of rhododendrons and azaleas was planted under his direction by Waterers Nurseries. The Gardens are home to an 18th century ice well and an early 19th century glass house – one of only three of its type in the country. The Arboretum has over 200 specimen trees and the Kidney Lake attracts kingfishers and grey herons.