Gardens to visit in Rutland
This month sees the reopening of a rather special Rutland garden. The six acres of formal gardens surrounding Luffenham Hall were among the very first to open for the NGS back in the 1920s. The garden will also open again this summer, for the first time in over a decade, for visitors to enjoy
It was quite the paradigm shift, swapping headlines for hedges, typography for topiary, but a shift that Shaun Smith was delighted to make, back when Covid was causing us all to reflect on our working lives.
Now the head gardener at North Luffenham Hall, Shaun works alongside his fiancée Bev. Following a successful career in publishing and graphic design, a friend made him aware of an estate manager position which had arisen at a local property. Shaun underwent a career change, and a year later he moved to North Luffenham Hall to take over the six acres of formal gardens surrounding the Grade I listed hall, which dates back as far as the 16th century, extended over the years.
The Hall’s current owners also acquired 50 acres of parkland at the rear of the property with the intention of rewilding the area, and with a strong working relationship soon developing between the family and Shaun, attention was soon turned from remediation of a rather overgrown garden to one that is looking to the future in time for 2027.
That year will mark 100 years since North Luffenham Hall was among the first gardens to open for the NGS. Elsie Wagg was a fundraiser for the Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nursing (latterly known as the Queen’s Institute for Community Nursing). She was also a keen gardener and posed a question to her colleagues: “Many of us around the table have lovely gardens. Why don’t we open them to the public and charge a shilling a time?”
The opening of gardens to the public was not without precedent but this was the first time a coordinated effort was made to formally present such gardens under one banner.
A year later, the National Gardens Scheme was formed with over 600 gardens opening, and it raised a total of £8,191—the equivalent of nearly £500,000 today.
164,000 visitors enjoyed the early open garden season, and in 1932 the first NGS guide was published. The ancestor of that first guide now thuds down on the doorstep with 700 pages and over 3,500 gardens to enjoy.
What’s more, the NGS raised £3.5m for charity last year ensuring a mix of great days out, fundraising and offering a way for hard-working garden owners and head gardeners like Shaun to show off their hard work.
Just a couple of years ago the family’s eldest daughter held her wedding in the grounds of North Luffenham, and Shaun was keen to ensure the grounds looked at their very best which, of course, they did.
The admiration that those wedding guests expressed inspired Shaun and the Hall’s owners to open for the NGS this year–for the first time in a decade and nearly 100 years since the garden’s first opening.
Shaun and Bev make a point of conducting a weekly walk around the garden to see how it has changed over the past week. From there the two make notes and plan the next few weeks worth of jobs.
The two work systematically around the six acres managing the topiary in front of the Hall, borders with perennials and annuals, as well as six ponds all of which flow into one another and down towards the River Chater just beyond the property’s curtilage.
In addition the garden has three productive glasshouses in which new plants are propagated plus a walled garden with productive fruit trees and a kitchen garden.
Shaun and Bev have also reinstated a previously overgrown water garden created by designer Russel Paige in 1928 for then owner Ernest Fenwick. He was a former WWI soldier with the Royal Bucks Hussars and a past president of the British Percheron Horse Society, as well as a Rutland County Councillor and deputy Lord Lieutenant of Rutland.
“There’s a huge sense of satisfaction when people see the garden and appreciate the scale and the history of the Hall. We’re really looking forward to showing-off the grounds this summer and can’t wait to present them at their very best, for the first time in a number of years!”
Shaun’s Instagram feed is shaunsmith606. North Luffenham Hall (LE15 8JR) is opening for the National Gardens Scheme on Sunday 13th July, see www.ngs.org.uk.
NGS Open Gardens in 2025
Sunday 22nd June: Exton Hall
Viscount & Viscountess Campden open their 25 acre private garden with woodland walks that meander past specimen trees around the lakes and through the Pinetum with its Wellingtonia Avenue. The gardens include the ruins of the 15th Century Elizabethan Hall visited by both Shakespeare and Handel. The garden has open vistas as well as secluded spots with a wide variety of colour year round, plus a sunken garden to the south of the Hall with herbaceous garden. Exton Park, LE15 8AN.
Tuesday 24th June: Rockingham Castle
Formal gardens arranged around an 11th century castle. The gardens feature a wealth of roses from hybrid teas to climbers covering every wall and features five key areas covering 13 acres: the terrace, the cross, rose garden, jewel borders and the wild garden. Rockingham, Leicestershire, LE16 8TH.
Sunday 6th July: Stockerston Hall
Stockerston Hall was built on the site of an earlier house in 1797. The garden has been quietly reimagined over the past 12 years to include the extended landscape and views towards the Eyebrook Reservoir and woods. The partly walled garden has formal herbaceous borders, an orchard and cutting garden. Courtyard with herbs and summer colour. Uppingham, LE15 9JD
Friday 11th July: Market Overton Hall
Stone walls and yew hedges divide the garden into enclosed areas with herbaceous borders, shrubs, long walks and young and mature trees. A Japanese Tea House is also a feature at the bottom of the garden. Please note this is an evening opening, pre-booking essential. Market Overton, LE15 7PL.
Sunday 13th July: North Luffenham Hall
Garden extending to over six acres with topiary formal gardens around a 16th century hall, a sunken pond, an octagonal pond under a beech tree, and nature pond flow from one to the next. North of the house are three glasshouses, fruit trees, beehives and a vegetable patch. A 40 acre rewilding area is rich in native flora and fauna. The water garden, designed by Russel Paige in 1928, has been restored, a spring-fed stream.North Luffenham, Oakham LE15 8JR.
Sunday 27th July: Prebendal House
The gardens of Prebendal House have undergone a total redesign incorporating elements of an early and long forgotten design of the garden. Areas and aspects have been developed to include more herbaceous borders, a white garden, and new beds. Empingham, Oakham, LE15 8PW.
Saturday 26th July: Lamport Hall
Lamport Hall is home to the Isham family and its extensive herbaceous borders complement the Elizabethan bowling lawns, together with topiary from the 1700s. The two acre walled garden is full of colour, with 250 rows of perennials. Another highlight is the extensively refurbished Lamport rockery. Lamport, Northants, NN6 9HD.
July-August by Prior Arrangement:
The Plant Lover’s Garden, Bourne
Be inspired by a garden packed with plants showcasing colour, form, texture, various planting combinations and conditions. Elements of garden design and structures throughout. A guided tour ensures you can hear the stories behind the garden’s design and planting. Bourne, PE10 0XF.
For more NGS Open Gardens throughout summer across Rutland and Stamford, visit www.ngs.org.uk, pick up the local booklet at your nearest garden centre or purchase the 2025 ‘big yellow book.’ To enquire about opening your garden in 2026, contact Lucy Hurst by emailing [email protected]