Beautiful Gardens
Willow Chair in the meadow
Beautiful Blossoms
Beautiful Garden
The Rill Garden
comma butterfly
Wildlife pond 2019
Mature Rill Garden
comma butterfly
herbaceous border

Opening Times 2024

Stillingfleet Lodge Garden is now closed for the winter, however you can order plants from our nursery and arrange to collect them all winter by prior arrangement.

Please take a look at the plant catalogue and send us your order via the plant order form.

Full details of 2024 opening times are shown below, just to keep you on your toes, we will NOT be open on the 1st and 2nd June due to a family celebration. We will however be opening the weekend after on the 8th and 9th of June.

opening times 2024

Please note, we will NOT be open on the 1st and 2nd June 2024 due to a family celebration. We will however be opening the weekend after on the 8th and 9th of June.

We have a beautiful flock of poultry roaming free around the garden. For this reason, neither the plant nursery or garden is suitable for dogs. You are welcome to exercise dogs in the grass car park, but they are not allowed in the rest of the property, (except for assistance dogs).

We love sharing the garden with visitors, but please note our opening times are 1:00pm to 5:00pm on the days shown on the calendar.

You are welcome to picnic at the tables in the car park if you arrive early, but you will not be admitted to the garden or plant nursery until 1 o’clock.

We do not allow picnics in the garden.

An introduction to the garden

Stillingfleet Lodge Garden and nursery is an organically managed, wildlife friendly, family garden close to York. Described as a quintessentially English garden, it is first and foremost a family garden, lovingly planted-up over 40 years by owners Vanessa and John Cook. Read more about how we encourage wildlife here.

It is a fine example of how to balance encouraging wildlife whilst retaining all the beauty of a cottage garden. The four acre site comprises a series of themed areas surrounding the traditional farmhouse plus a pond, meadow and vegetable garden.

The  very well-stocked plant nursery includes many unusual perennial plants, 90% of which are grown here. We specialise in hardy geraniums and pulmonarias and have a large selection, both in the garden and to purchase.To help you with your plant selection you may wish to browse our plant catalogue before visiting.

You will see first-hand the many ways that the garden is managed organically, giving you inspiration to take home and turn your garden into a wildlife haven too. We purposefully leave seed heads as food for birds and limit cutting back to provide habitat for insects and places for hedgehogs to hibernate.

After you have explored the garden, finish the day with a cup of tea and a slice of cake in the attractive Tea Room and enjoy the art exhibitions.

Our entire ethos is one of sustainability – not just in how we manage the garden, but also in the tea room and plant nursery.

The garden and the tea room are also used to host a wide variety of workshops, some of which are aimend at improving your gardening skills and others are more creative. These events often sell-out quickly, so early booking is recommended.

Here's what you can expect.....

Opening Times 2024

Stillingfleet Lodge Garden is now closed for the winter, however you can order plants from our nursery and arrange to collect them all winter by prior arrangement.

Please take a look at the plant catalogue and send us your order via the plant order form.

Details of 2024 opening times are listed below, just to keep you on your toes, we will NOT be open on the 1st and 2nd June due to a family celebration. We will however be opening the weekend after on the 8th and 9th of June.

In 2024 we will NOT be open on the 1st and 2nd June 2024 due to a family celebration. We will however be opening the weekend after on the 8th and 9th of June.

We love sharing the garden with visitors, but please note our opening times are 1:00pm to 5:00pm on the days shown on the calendar.

You are welcome to picnic at the tables in the car park if you arrive early, but you will not be admitted to the garden or plant nursery until 1 o’clock.

Please note: we do not allow picnics in the garden.

Dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome
pekin bantam chicks

We have a beautiful flock of poultry roaming free around the garden. For this reason, neither the plant nursery or garden is suitable for dogs. You are welcome to exercise dogs in the grass car park, but they are not allowed in the rest of the property, (except for assistance dogs).

Testimonials

"Thank you for opening up your garden for the general public to visit. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and read your folder of information. I am so pleased and re-assured to fine a garden that is run on such high principles, with not just wildlife being a key, but local employments, and use of local resources being used within the cafe and within the nursery. I wish that there were more gardens run with such passion and enthusiasm." Louanna, September 2023

"Enjoyed meeting the guide/hearing dogs. My son is disabled and uses a power chair. Accessibility was good for the style of garden. Staff were helpful. We've had a lovely afternoon, thank you." Suzanne, Aug 2023

"It is wonderful to see such a wide range of plants in a very homely setting! I would rank this with Great Dexter, Beth Chatto's and Ashwood Nurseries, wonderful that it is situated in the north so we don't have to travel so far! Keep it up." Theresa, Aug 2023

"I am absolutely spellbound by the whole garden and full of admiration of all the work that has been put into making such a dream garden, The Rill is my favourite: peace and tranquility, love the Avenue also." June W, August 2023

"Absolutely loved the entire experience, could not rate it highly enough - will enthuse about it to friends and family and am definitely coming back myself. Fantastic!" Nicola, August 2023

"Really enjoyed our first trip to an amazing garden. Loved all the different areas and seat to sit and enjoy." Sally, August 2023

"An amazing array of habitats to see in a small area - showcasing a great selection of plants - encouraging to see lots of butterflies and insects. Look forward to returning throughout the seasons." Sarah, July 2023

"Greatly enjoyed the informality of the gardens." Alison, July 2023

"How lovely to visit a 'proper' wildlife garden, not too manicured. Information about the individual gardens and habitats was good. We had a lovely relaxing and interesting afternoon. Also gave me ideas about how to make my garden more wildlife friendly." Sue, June 2023

"Our 3rd visit here but our 1st in spring. Didn't expect as much colour and was pleasantly surprised. Our daughter loves the wildlife and the play area. Don't think the gardens can be improved in any way - perfect! Worth the journey."  Rebecca, April 2023

"Excellent! I only found out about this little, delightful treasure a day ago. Large grassy car park. £6 entry fee for adult to gardens. No dogs except guide dogs. Wheelchair parking and access. Loo. Café. Nursery. Kid's playing area with hopscotch, climbing frame, quoits and swings. Social distancing in operation and hand sanitiser at entrance. Really peaceful gardens. A trio of lovely white doves. Lots of sculptures, many made from chicken wire. Map provided, very easy to follow. It's a much loved organic garden consisting of many varied different areas or rooms which are linked by arches and merge via meandering paths. Really enjoyed the visit here. Was not my intention to buy plants (ha!) but came away with six beauties, well established and healthy looking plants. If it's busy and a nice day, you may struggle to find a seat for your cuppa. The café sells delicious lemon drizzle cake; a yum apricot and almond cake and a lovely tempting array of reasonably priced cards. Also cold drinks, brownies, ice creams. Card machine in café was having a hissy fit so paid at entrance when paid for plants. I would revisit this cherished place as I really enjoyed my trip. Very photogenic."  Cath August 2020

"I just wanted to say what a wonderful place you have created .We came for the first time last year bringing my parents-in-law with us as they had moved into a local care home .They had been very keen gardeners. Stillingfleet was a perfect and tranquil environment for them providing a safe space for my mother-in-law ,who has dementia, to wander and for my father-in-law to relax ,given that he couldn’t walk very far. We have returned this year but sadly not with my father-in-law as he passed away in March. It did them both the world of good to visit your gardens and we took great pleasure in taking them there.

I wanted to thank you so very much for allowing us to share such a special place." July 2020

"A most enjoyable experience, lots to see and of course lots of lovely pulmonarias. Very nice coffee shop and cakes. Everything is well labelled and of course many things available to buy. " Jackie April 2023

"The garden is wonderful. The different areas so well thought out. We need to come back to see the summer garden. It is so in tune with the environment, so natural and tranquil. It great place to spend a couple of hours. The trees are fantastic in blossom. Love the sculptures and so grateful for the many seats. So nice to sit and enjoy." Jenny and Melanie, spring 2022

"You have made a great garden, we enjoyed the lovely peaceful entrance with the water feature. Didn’t use cafe, but looks very good. It’s a lovely courtyard. Signage of autumn plants to look for was excellent. Not sure about the rill in context of the garden as a whole……Thankyou for the seating everywhere……" Judi and Roy, September 2022

"Delightful gardens and enjoyed tea, coffee and cakes in tearooms and nice to get advice on plants."  May 2023

"The gardens were fantastic, with lots of plants we hadn't seen before as well as the more usual ones. Jean at reception was very welcoming and helpful and it was great to have a map, though we weren't sure where to bgin and so a few directional arrows would be useful. P.S. the gluten-free chocolate brownie was the best ever!" Helen, July 2023

"Small but perfectly formed, lots of hidden corners. An amazing array of plants, sculptures and everywhere smells wonderful. Really relaxing listening to water and bird song." September 2023

"Positively charming and thoroughly enjoyable to walk round and soak up the tranquil atmosphere. Thoughtful planting and a good selection of usual and unusual tress, shrubs and plants." Julie, September 2023

"My children loved completing their garden explorer sheets, each part of the garden was a wonderful surprise as they walked around. The sculptures were a great hit, as was the play area." Katherine, Sept. 2023

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Seasonal Tips

Find Us

By Car:

Stillingfleet Village lies 6 miles south of York on the B1222.   If approaching from Naburn, once in the village turn right opposite the church, following the signpost to “Lodge Nurseries”.

If approaching on the A19 south of York, once you have passed through Escrick, follow the brown signs and turn right and follow the road for approximately 2 miles, then turn right into Stillingfleet village immediately before the Cross Keys Pub.  Cross the bridge in the village and turn left following the signs for “Lodge Nurseries” opposite the church.

By Bus from York:

Arriva no 42, York to Selby bus – runs hourly – view the timetable here

422 runs from York to Sherburn in Elmet – view the timetable here
Bus route takes approximately 20 minutes and stops at Stillingfleet church (5 minutes walk to Garden).

By Bicycle:

Take Route 65, trans-Pennine trail towards Selby (access at the Millennium Bridge or The Knavesmire in York) and leave the route at Naburn, then take the B1222 into Stillingfleet and turn right opposite the Church. We have bike racks.

A Word from Vanessa.....

Welcome to Stillingfleet Lodge Garden and Nursery, our family home since the 1970s. John and I moved here in 1974 with our young (and growing) family. Our aim was to be organic and self sufficient.

For 10 years we used land to produce our own meat and vegetables. As the children grew older we began to convert the garden into a plant nursery and later into the wildlife-friendly garden you see here today.

It is still very much the family home and you are likely to meet our dog, Flops and Donald the cat. Our children, grand children and great grand children still spend a lot of time enjoying the fruits of our labour of love.

You can read more of our story here

By visiting Stillingfleet garden I hope you will be inspired to garden for wildlife and to grow your own food.

 

Vanessa

vanessa