Gardens at Glyndebourne

The opera is the obviously main reason for going to Glyndebourne, and that is a good enough reason in itself, but there are also the gardens, dining and drinks which combine to make it a day out, a proper event, rather than just a concert.

The gardens are a good size, but not extensive, and are cleverly designed with lots of different areas from the large picnic lawn, to the small plot where the Henry Moore statue now sits.

The gardens at Glyndebourne have a long tale to tell; this is the abridged version.

A large herbaceous border, the Terrace, sits between the picnic lawn and the house with a just-wide-enough-for-two stone path running through it.

The planting here, as in most of the garden, looks chaotic but I am sure that it isn't. This makes it look natural even though some of the plants in it are unusual and their combination even more so.

There is a lot of height in the planting too which nicely separates you from the rest of the garden.

Through the tall plants you sometimes catch a glimpse of one of the buildings. Here you can see the corner of the Old Green Room that juts in to the picnic lawn.

Walking around the Old Green Room to its South side we can appreciate it's age and beauty.

Old brick and stone almost always looks good and usually looks even better when set off against some bright plants.

Continuing on past the Old Green Room we come to the Croquet Lawn which is surrounded by a tall hedge.

A gap in this hedge lets you pass through to the Urn Garden but continuing South takes you past some new borders that are starting to look mature this year, and to another long lawn popular with picnickers.

And the lake.

The long lawn continues along the length of the lake and then a path takes you across the bottom and back on the other side.

From the far end of the lake you can look back towards the Opera House which can just be seen through the trees.

There is a lot more to the garden than this but I hope that I've made the point that it is a good idea to arrive early to give you plenty of time to explore and enjoy it before the serious bit of the evening starts.