Plantation Room

The gardens are magical. Well worth the cost. Sadly though the years have taken their toll. No lift or easy disabled access other than the slope of the paths. Which on a return journey from the bottom can be very tiresome. The staff were superb. Our visit was July 19th, weather was beautiful and gardens reflected this.

The location is amazing. The history of how the place came to exist is very interesting. However the weeds were a bit overgrown in some parts and some bits looked not very well looked after. The Japanese garden and surroundings seem new and better looked after. The greenhouse seems to need a lot of attention, unfortunately the pond didn't seem to have been cleaned properly and same with the glass which blocks a lot of the light (lateral windows). Another thing to mention: many plants don't display a name or tag which makes it hard to identify the plant. Many lizards running around which is pretty cool! Overall the price is worth the visit, if more people visit I think the money could go to improve it :)

Really enjoyable visit to the gardens. I think there is an opportunity to be 'smarter' with places like this, putting QR codes to plants you like and perhaps linking it to the shop at the end. I think selling more rare plants as well rather than those you could get in a garden centre so there is more of a draw to come along. Maybe even cuttings from some of the plants? Anyway Gardens were very nice and a good way to spend a hour or two.

Love walking round the gardens, amazing plants and wildlife, always see the lizards in the arid gardens. Just such a lovely place to sit and chill and enjoy the scenery and the amazing plants. I’m not keen on the menu in the cafe, not much for children, there was no cake that I liked the look of today, but the coffee is good and that’s not really what I went there for.