enjoyaus

Visitors are welcome to wander through the gardens on the self guided Garden Discovery Trail. The famous Great Ashcombe Gnome Hunt is fun for all ages.

HEDGE MAZE

The traditional hedge maze is planted with more than 1000 cypress trees and thousands of metres of pathways. Now more than three metres high and two metres thick, the maze keeper clips the hedges three times a year to keep it sculpted into a curvaceous challenge that will delight and inspire.

LAVENDER

The Lavender Labyrinth is planted with year round flowering lavender and the view from the centre over the lavender rows is spectacular. More than 3000 lavender plants are planted overlooking the impressive Arboretum, and the Lavender display gardens features more than 40 different lavenders, providing an insight into the history of lavender.

ROSES

The Rose Maze at Ashcombe Maze is the oldest circular Rose Maze in the world consisting of more than 1200 bushes and 217 different rose varieties chosen specifically for their color and perfume. The roses flower from spring through summer and into autumn and include traditional old garden rose varieties (including the rare 'Raubritter' with a mass of pink bell like flowers, flowering only once at the start of the season) ramblers, bush roses, climbing roses, shrub roses, bourbon roses, noisette roses, and wild (or species) roses.

The object of a Circular Maze is to try and find your way into the Central Arbour. Despite how it looks – it is actually quite a challenge – especially in winter when there is no foliage. And once you make it to the middle, you have to remember how you did it and see if you can get out! Just make sure you take some time to "stop and smell the roses"- the fragrance is truly beautiful.

The entrance to the Rose Maze is covered by a magnificent specimen of a rambling Boursault Rose – which has flame-like flowers for most of the year, while the Rosa 'Mermaid' fills the Pyramid structure near the centre of the maze – and keep an eye out for the Moss Rose with a furry stem.

SEASONS

Whatever the season, Ashcombe is a beautiful place to visit.

• Autumn

  The Small Woodland, Lower Woodland and Arboretum is full of colour as the maples turn red, the claret ash turn burgundy and the poplars turn yellow while the Elms, Oaks and Pears create a carpet of leaves.

  Tip – cooler nights create more vibrant leaf colouring

• Winter

  The winter flowering Hellebores (Winter Rose), Camellias and Rhododendrons add splashes of crimson and pink to the gardens. In late winter, more than 2 million Bluebells will appear under the bare branches of the woodland trees and the Italian Lavender buds will burst into flower. Australian Native Happy Wanderer creepers appear in bright purple and white, and nectar-feeding birds enjoy the Banksias

• Spring

  Buds burst on all the deciduous trees. Spring bulbs appear including fragrant jonquils along Ashcombe Way and happy daffodils around the Rose Maze. The Apple trees blossom (crab apples, maypole apples and traditional apples) and the ornamental (and non ornamental) cherries and pears bloom profusely. Australian Wattles spread their yellow pollen, and everything starts to come back into life with the spring sunshine

• Summer

  The architectural Acanthus in the Summer Garden raise their 2 metre high flower spires while the water lilies bask in the sun; flowering in the lily pond. The English lavenders and the Lavandins are at their best in the summer.