Coveney & Wardy Hill Gardens

About Coveney & Wardy Hill Gardens

The parish of Coveney is a small upland Fen village on a clay ridge and a lower Hamlet on the black fen. A visit offers the prospects of visiting Six gardens of varying sizes and interest.The first is a real plantsman’s garden, compact with borders planted for year-round colour and a wealth of experience, along with some unusual flowers that compliment the patio, rock garden and veg plot.

Nearby is another delight, a true cottage garden of roses and and clematis with bee-friendly herbaceous borders and flourishing wildlife pond that leads to a shaded, carefully planted patio and bonsai for a welcome cuppa and home make cakes .

Whilst passing between them, a worth while walk, there is a magnificent view of Ely Cathedral on one side and our 13th century church, with floral displays and its bronze ‘Wildlife Trust Churchyard Award’, that welcomes you, before heading along quaint and varied houses to the village Green and old Lock-up, with its Animal ‘Pound’ by the village pond.

‘Down the road’ lies the parish’s hamlet of Wardy Hill where the soil is more varied, still more clay but also black soil over a sand base; thus the gardens can offer a contrast; the names, Hey Chapel and Drovers, hark back its past.

The Chapel shows its character the moment you walk through the gate and a winding path leads up to a viewing point for the Cathedral and a magnificent veg garden, then back down through ever changing gardens and seating areas, past ponds and rose arbours to a restful cup of tea.

Drovers is a garden based on Chinese pleasure garden philosophy but with English naturalistic planting that wanders by a wildlife pond, beneath mature trees to a rose garden and potted terrace.

This year we are so pleased to add two new gardens for you to wander in:
Toadsacre is 2/3 acre of parkland style garden with a Heritage Orchard of mixed fruit trees, mature oaks and mown paths to wander, along in a sea of native meadow. By the house is a Potage plot, within the terrace, where a quartet will be playing with a cup of something to add to your enjoyment.

1a, The Green, is a new property with a more modern style of planting and layout, to complement the house. First planted in 2022 it is surprisingly mature with arbours and pergolas giving interest to well shaped and placed herbaceous borders. The range of many unusual plants warrants careful viewing , it is definitely a lovely a garden that will be fun to see as it grow and mature.

An RSPB site and flood meadows run along the banks of the New Bedford river and washes, giving lovely, dog friendly, fenland walks beside a wildfowl lake.

For those with energy left, you play garden games of boule or horseshoes or a relaxing swing before restoring the sore of foot, with tea, that is included in the ticket price and is available at all the gardens. Homemade cake, at Hey Chapel and Hawthorn Cottage is extra.

We hope you will enjoy an afternoon sharing our wonderful countryside and take as much pleasure as we do, in our gardens and all our parish has to offer, whilst supporting this worth while cause.
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