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Visitor Reception reopened for 2025 on Tuesday 1 April and will now be open most days until the end of October. When you arrive at Holehird, call in Reception to talk to our Welcome Team. They will be able to give you advice about your visit and answer any questions you may have about the Gardens or the Lakeland Horticultural Society. They will also help you with the sale of plants, LHS publications and hot drinks.
Visitor donations - Please give generously We do not have a set admission fee but do ask that all visitors make a contribution towards the considerable costs of maintaining the Gardens. While our volunteers give their time and expertise freely, we rely on visitor donations to cover all other expenses involved in running the garden. For 2025 we suggest a minimum of £6 per adult visitor, with free entry for children. Our Welcome Team will happily take your donation, and you can help further by completing a Gift Aid form if appropriate. Alternatively, donation boxes can be found in the main car park and outside Visitor Reception.
Designing with Plants Course
Location - Holehird Gardens, Patterdale Road, Windermere, LA23 1NP
Tutor - Shelagh Todd: Cumbria-based lecturer, designer and plantswoman.
Course Description- It’s all too easy to have a garden full of wonderful plants that feels more like a restless collection than a well thought out design. Discover how to create a garden with a sense of year-round unity and well-being. Learn to select plants for their visual, aesthetic, and structural properties, how to assess your site conditions and the process of creating a planting plan on paper.
Course Content will include Plant Knowledge and Identification; Plant Form, Habit, Colour & Texture; The Role of Plants in the Planting Scheme; Seasonal Colour and Excitement; Considering Plant Selection and using the mantra of “the right plant for the right place”; Drawing up Planting Plans and Exploring & Discussing Different Plants and Themed Borders in the glorious gardens at Holehird.
Course Dates
Spring and Summer 2025: 4 days teaching (10.30am - 4.00pm)
Course fee: £360
Dates: Thursday 3 April, Thursday 15 May, Thursday 12 June and Thursday 10 July
Autumn and Winter 20254: 4 days teaching (10.30am - 4.00pm)
Course fee: £360
Dates: Thursday 4 September, Thursday 9 October, Thursday 6 November and Thursday 4 December
For more information and to book your place, email Shelagh on shelagh.todd@outlook.com
To mark the 50th anniversary of the LHS, our volunteer gardeners were asked to select their favourite plants amongst all those to be found at Holehird. Their 50 favourites are shown in this book. The book is illustrated with photographs taken at Holehird by our volunteers and the description of each plant includes growing information. Gold labels mark the “Gardeners’ Choice” in the garden. Many of the plants have also been grown for sale at Holehird - look out for same gold label on the pots in the plant sales area.
Price: Reduced to £1 - a bargain!