Open Gardens - National Garden Scheme

Beautiful 9 acre woodland garden with a large collection of rare trees and shrubs. Interest throughout the year with spring flowers, cool leafy areas in summer and sensational autumn colour. Many information posters describing the more obscure plants. Adjacent specialist tree and shrub nursery. Please be aware this is not a wood full of bluebells, despite the name. The woodland garden is fully labelled and the staff can answer questions or talk at length about any of the trees or shrubs on display.

This  beautiful garden was started in 1992 and now covers an area of nine acres. British native trees were first planted to provide much needed shelter on this site. Into the wood that this created were planted hundreds of the choice, rare and unusual plants in which we specialise. Although most of the large trees are still quite young, many of the shrubs and smaller trees already show their full beauty of form and habit and the arboretum has become a beautiful woodland walk with rare plant treasures on display to entice the real enthusiast! In May 2004, the arboretum was given the ‘Greenwatch Award’ by Derbyshire County Council for Environmental Sustainability! Springtime in Bluebell Arboretum is characterised by emerging flowers of such beautiful specimens as the yellow flowered Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’ (Witch Hazel), or the carmine pink flowers of Prunus mume ‘Beni-Chidon’ (Japanese Flowering Apricot). During springtime the gardens feel fresh and full of vitality, and the varied wildlife in the arboretum becomes quite vocal, with a veritable symphony of birdsong! In the Summer the Arboretum is a lush, leafy and cool environment on all but the hottest of days. Plants such as the Cornus kousa ‘Miss Satomi’ (Flowering Dogwood) with its beautiful pink bracts are spectacular in early to mid summer and Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ with its ruby red, heart-shaped leaves are particularly striking at this time of year! The gardens are particularly striking in Autumn. Many of the trees and shrubs here have been planted for their vivid autumn colours and fruit! In a normal year, the best time to visit for the colour is October although, when the weather in autumn is very mild the foliage can be at its best in early November. In Winter the arboretum changes yet again, with the focus now being on plants with attractive bark, winter flowers, sturdy evergreen foliage and architectural habit. At this time of year the gardens are particularly beautiful on a clear, frosty day! In winter there are masses of Witch Hazels, winter flowering Honeysuckle, Winter Sweet (Chimonanthus praecox) and Snake Bark Maples including Acer conspicuum ‘Phoenix’ which glows with its pink and silver striated bark, not to mention the butter yellow autumn colours.