The Dorothy Clive Garden

In Brief.

Named after the person it was initially produced for, the Dorothy Clive Garden was originally developed in the 1940s, and is now a garden of two halves. The original garden is a wooded area built into an old quarry, which will be most colourful in the spring, and the more recent area includes a collection of themed spaces including grand herbaceous borders and a distinctive edible woodland.  In my visit in September there was still a lot of colour in the more recent garden, and the cafe provides a pleasant area to pass the time when the sun shines.

The Waterfall in the Quarry Garden

What's Here?

The Dorothy Clive Garden occupies a hillside near Stoke-on-Trent, and, other than the sound of cars heading along the adjacent A51, this is a peaceful and relaxing garden. 

After a pleasant tea and lemon drizzle cake the outdoor space of the cafe, I headed for the Quarry Garden. This provides meandering paths around and into a largely wooded area that occupies a disused quarry.  In September, this is mostly many shades of green, and other colours are likely concentrated in the Spring, with many Rhododendrons and a designated Bluebell Garden. I was also too early for the Winter Woodland; the garden is clearly designed to provide something for locals all-year-round, so there won't be an ideal time for a single visit.

A small section of the impressive herbaceous borders.

The lower part of the garden provides a collection of different areas, and the herbaceous borders must be spectacular earlier in the summer, providing at least some colour in September.  However, a blend of open outlooks and compact spaces provides some varied wandering opportunities, and the garden is diverse and well maintained. A distinctive feature is an edible woodland that provides an unusual way of gardening for fruit and vegetables, where different layers from fruit trees down to ground-growing vegetables coexist, providing a diverse collection of crops within a single compact space.

If you can cope with more than one garden in a day, this is also close to the Bridgemere Show Gardens and Trentham, and I headed for lunch to the pleasant cafe at the World of Wedgwood.

Practicalities.

Distance from Manchester Town Hall: 53 miles

Drive Time: 1 hour 20 minutes.

Price: $$

Parking: On-site parking.  

Food and Drink: There is a pleasant cafe, that includes seating in the garden.

Retail therapy: There are gifts and plants for sale.

Child Friendly: There doesn't seem to be much specifically for children.

Toilets: Yes.

Do it justice in: 90 minutes.

Inside-Outside: 0:100

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