Garden News | July 2025

There’s no better place to spend a balmy summer’s day than in a beautiful garden!

There’s no better place to spend a balmy summer’s day than in a beautiful garden, and they don’t come much more beautiful than our 240 acres of Grade I listed gardens here at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens. We’re often lauded for our spring displays, and rightly so, but the summer months can be just as enjoyable here too. Whether it’s taking a shady stroll through our woodland paths to escape the July heat, marvelling at some of our historic trees and beautiful wildlife, listening to the bird song or taking pictures of our fascinating flowering plants and stunning views, there’s something here for everyone. If you’re a nature lover for instance, there is no better place for a stroll in July than down by the lakes where you’ll be able to catch the likes of dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies becoming more active as we shift into summer gear.  

July is also the month when another of Leonardslee’s other feature plants stake a claim for ‘star attraction’. Although the Magnolias, Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Camellias have mostly had their moments in the spotlight for this year, now it’s the turn of the Hydrangea. The Cornus, or Flowering Dogwoods if you prefer, started their floral explosion in June but should continue their display well into July too but the hydrangeas will be hot on their heels. So far it’s been amazing year for flowering trees – from the Davidia trees on Daffodil Lawn and at the bottom of Camellia Grove for instance in May to the Tulip Tree on the house lawn in June , as well of course as the myriad of flowering dogwoods recently. Long may this trend continue! 

Tulip Tree on the house lawn in June

Hydrangeas

As for the Hydrangeas, we’re hoping that 2025 follows suit from the last couple of years, which were the best for their floral bounty since I’ve been here at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens. A warm spring has allowed most plants in the garden to get a head start this year without the fear of frost knocking them back, while the sporadic heavy rainfall has given them a vital boost at key times too, so let’s hope our hydrangeas benefit from this also. We’ve been pruning our hydrangeas slightly differently over the last few years, straying from the advised RHS method as well as our own previous experience with working with Hydrangeas, and instead only pruned them back to the top fat buds rather than down to the lowest double set as is usual. This was done back in March and April and was swiftly followed by a good organic feed and mulch. Either way, it seems to have worked – they are full of buds and some are even starting to bloom, so I can’t wait for them all to flower this year. You’ll find our Hydrangeas in many shades of pink, purple and white near the new retail building, around the Rock Garden and below the Clocktower Kitchen and Courtyard for example. In future we hope to plant more unusual hydrangea shrubs across the garden but we need to tackle our rogue deer population before we do that as they are quite prone to munching on hydranegas!  

Talking of new plants and planting schemes, as you wander around the top areas of the garden at the moment you’ll spot plenty of interesting new flowers and foliage to admire. Our displays around the house and in the Herbaceous Beds opposite are into their third year now and I’m really pleased at how these areas are filling out. In the borders around the hotel and Restaurant Interlude for example you’ll find the likes of Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ climbing the walls, the stunning Alstromeria ‘Indian summer’, the unusual orange foliage of Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Amber Jubliee’, the alien-like seed pods of Melianthus major as well as an array of Ricinus, Euphorbia and exotic banana foliage so name but a few.   

The herbaceous beds to the east of the Rock Garden really come into their own in July. Here you should look out for Aclepsis incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’ with their fluffy white blooms, Acanthus mollis ‘Rue Leden’, a range of unusual Eryngium and Echinops and perhaps most excitingly, the large drifts of Lobelia tupa (aka Devil’s Tobacco) that will have their bright red exotic flowers on display for the first time this year. 

Dan, has also been creating some fantastic container displays around the cafes and welcome areas this year.

One of my garden team, Dan, has also been creating some fantastic container displays around the cafes and welcome areas this year and they will be a riot of colour throughout the whole summer so make sure you check those out too.  

As lovely as a British summer can be, the hot weather isn’t without its challenges for the garden team however, as watering some of our plants becomes a priority. Some plants start to wilt when the amount of water they lose through their leaves (known as transpiration) is greater than the amount they can draw in from the soil through their roots. Established trees and shrubs and long-standing perennials should have an extensive root system to tap deeper water, but any newly planted specimens, such as those mentioned earlier, will need keeping an eye on. Our pots and containers will also need regular watering as the volume of compost in them can only hold a limited amount of water.  

So, as always, lots to see and do in the garden here at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens. There is something new to stumble upon somewhere every day, so get out there and explore! There will be members’ garden tours on July 7th, 14th, 23rd and 28th this month so if you haven’t already been on one of these, please book up if you can. I look forward to seeing you here during July.

Jamie Harris, Head Gardener