Garden Visits, Chorley, Lancashire, North West England
A visit to Lancashire would not be complete without spending a couple of hours at The Ridges gardens. Located at the start of the West Pennine Moors in a beautiful area known locally as “the Lancashire Lake District” and close to Rivington Pike with its historic Saxon Barns and Chinese gardens, once the home of the soap magnate Lord Leverhulme.
Visitors to the ‘The Ridges’ can enjoy a quiet stroll around the peaceful, secluded gardens just a few minutes drive outside Chorley, Lancashire on the road to Rivington Village and, for an hour or more, share the pleasure of the beautiful, private gardens, surrounded by natural woodland.
The old, 3.5-acre gardens at The Ridges have been gradually restored since 1993 with at least one new feature added each year. They include a cottage style, walled orchard garden with large herbaceous borders where there are lots of lovely plants, including perennials that are of special interest to flower arrangers.
Visitors will see the plants growing in their permanent positions, showing height, flower and foliage colour, each complimenting and contrasting with another. Most of these plants are named to help give visitors planning and planting ideas for their own gardens.
GARDEN OPEN DAYS
The garden is open from 11am until 5pm
Early May Bank Holiday – Sunday & Monday, 30th April & 1st May
Spring Bank Holiday – Sunday & Monday, 28th & 29th May
Saturday & Sunday – 15th & 16th July
ALSO OPEN – Wednesdays & Thursdays in June, July & August from 11am until 4pm.
Our last open day for 2023 is Thursday 17th August.
Private Group Visits by appointment. Please email or telephone.
Home made cakes and cream teas available on open days
Plants also for sale
ADMISSION £5.00 Cash only (no card facility), CHILDREN UNDER 12 FREE
Open days for the NGS (National Gardens Scheme) are Monday 1st May & Sunday 16th July.
We are included in The National Gardens Scheme “yellow Book” and website.
SPRING
Early May sees the fresh green growth of Spring with primroses, bluebells Solomon’s Seal and ferns in the woodland glades and dell. The old walled orchard will now be filled with apple blossom and perennials are emerging from the ground after long winter months.
EARLY SUMMER
Towards the end of May Spring flowering trees are now displaying their fresh foliage and blossom, including the Handkerchief Tree (Davidii) and Cornus Koussa Chinensis. Rhododendrons, azaleas and other flowering shrubs will now be in bloom with clematis climbing through the apple trees. A wide variety of hostas can also be seen amongst many perennials in the well-stocked borders.
In mid-June and early July, when the gardens are open every Wednesday & Thursday, highly perfumed rambling roses, such as Paul’s Himalayan Musk and Rambling Rector, together with brightly flowered clematis run rampant through the old fruit trees.
LATE SUMMER
Still lots of colour in the garden, now with hydrangeas in full bloom plus well loved cottage garden perennials like phlox, day lilies and golden rod together with many more unusual plants filling the herbaceous borders.
