Welcome to our blog page in which we will pass on the comings and goings of the garden and keep you up to date with any changes during the season. As a snowdrop garden open for one month a year, we might go quiet during the summer months, but we are still here! In fact the work starts in earnest the day after we close the gates for the season in order to prepare for the grand opening eleven months later. We post photos and blogs on both Instagram and Facebook during the season and beyond so please do subscribe.
Occasionally, adverse weather conditions will disrupt our opening plans at the last minute and we will post to here as well as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter if we are affected. Please look here the evening before if you are planning to visit.
The arboretum will open in the autumn for walks amongst our fine collection of trees so please come and take a stroll around the gardens and lake as the colours change. Details will be posted on here in the late summer.
Our snowdrop season is now at a close. 
We managed to open the gardens to local visitors in a covid safe environment and it was wonderful to see so many new faces enjoying the beauty of spring manifested in the stunning array of snowdrops at Colesbourne – we thank you all for coming, and for the social media army for displaying such wonderful photographs of the gardens – you can find these on instagram and facebook by searching for Colesbourne Gardens.
Despite the snow of the past few days, which stubbornly lingers in the below zero temperatures, the snowdrops are starting to poke their heads up and wake from their 11 month slumber. Everywhere there is new life appearing and in a week or so the gardens should be a carpet of white . Check out our instagram page for photos! We will also be producing a video of the gardens in full bloom for those who cannot join us this year.
We are opening in February!
We are going to open our gates for 10 days in February to take advantage of the best snowdrop displays and hopefully the weather. As a Botanical Garden we can open for exercise purposes, but there will be restrictions on the number of visitors we will have in the garden and all visitors must be from the local area to follow the rules. Our timed booking page is open to book a time slot only –
UPDATE: 18.01.21
We are taking advice on opening the gardens in February, subject to travel and exercise restrictions in place. It is a difficult time for all but we do not want visitors to fall foul of the guidelines in place. At present we are planning to open and will use an online, limited number booking system to ensure health and safety is maintained. As soon as we are given the go-ahead, a link to this booking page will be available here.
Due to popular demand we have added a new page to the website offering a select range of perennial plants to complement your gardens. At this time of year and with what we have faced and are facing in the next 6 weeks, we need all the colour we can get!
Please stand by for an update on the coming season – the good news is that under the new restrictions we will still be open for visitors who wish to take some excercise in our lovely gardens.
We have now updated our “Visit Us” page with the Open Days for 2021. We are concentrating our season this year to get the very best out of our snowdrops. If you plan to visit and would like to order some snowdrops before you come, take a look at our “Snowdrops for Sale” page where you can place an order for collection on the day of your visit.
Sadly, due to Covid restrictions we will be unable to offer refreshments as usual but you are welcome to bring your own!
We have just posted our new 2021 bulb sale catalogue on the website. Please order early to avoid disappointment as some bulbs do sell out very quickly and may not be available for purchase in February. The first snowdrops are already showing at Colesbourne and photos will follow shortly on our instagram page . In the midst of all the doom and gloom, it is nice to be able to glimpse a brighter and prettier sign of things to come…!
Colesbourne Gardens are still here! We have been working hard on changes to the gardens for the upcoming season and luckily for us, working in isolation is part of the gardening year so little time has been lost. We have had an interesting time with the weather in the past few months, with at one stage the grass all but disappearing into desert. Now the welcomed rains have improved the situation and the ground can once again be dug without the need for pickaxes to break the baked earth.
Short but sweet. Well, apart from the atrocious weather we experienced for much of February, it was sweet. When the sun came out to warm our backs (and hearts) all was well with the world, if you discount Coronavirus, Syria, Brexit and all! The microcosm which is Colesbourne Gardens provided a brief respite from the winter blues, with lovely displays of white and green snowdrops, purple cyclamen, crocus, yellow aconites and early flowering daffodils, interspersed with shrubs of all colours.
Please keep a watch on this page for updates on opening times. The weather is looking inclement for the coming weekend and if winds are too high, we may need to close the gardens for health and safety reasons. Any updates will appear here but in their absence, we will be opening as usual.