Garden Events

Garden Lunches

16th April, 13th, 20th & 21st May, 24th June, 15th, 22nd July, 5th & 20th August

Join the celebrated gardener Susan Cunliffe-Lister for a two course lunch, garden talk over coffee and then a guided tour of the grounds. Each lunch is themed on either the parkland and lakes or the walled garden. The parkland lunches concentrate on the restoration of the landscape and the planting programme in the grounds. Susan will give an insight into her gardening style, and guests will be given a tour up to the parkland to view the daffodils or rhododendrons and azaleas.

The menus for the walled garden lunches will include several ingredients from the garden, with recipe cards from our chef Simon Crannage. Susan will explain her choice of produce, with tips for cultivation and harvesting.

£35 per person (includes a two course lunch, coffee, talk and guided tour). The lunch starts at 12.30 with coffee in the Drawing Room which then leads in to lunch.

Garden Design Days

Tuesday 16th July & Monday 29th July

Join Susan Cunliffe-Lister for a Garden Design Day and learn about planting, planning and designing both a kitchen garden and the gardens in the parkland. The day will include an account of Susan’s experiences of designing two very different walled gardens – the award winning ornamental one at Burton Agnes in East Yorkshire, and the highly productive one here at Swinton Park designed for growing fruit, vegetables and herbs for the hotel’s kitchen and cookery school. The history and design of the 18th Century landscaped parkland at Swinton Park is also covered, including the story of its restoration following 30 years of neglect.

Throughout the day practical and constructive tips and suggestions are given for both planting and cultivation.

The day starts at 11:00 am with a talk from Susan followed by lunch and then a tour of the garden and a question and answer session, ending at about 4:00pm.

£75 per person – the maximum number in a group is 8.

For those wanting to combine an interest in growing your own produce and cooking, please have a look at our Kitchen Garden : Grow and Eat Your Own course.

Orchid Lunch

“How to keep the Blooming Things Alive and Flowering”
25th Novemebr 2012, 14th April & 1st December 2013

Join Ray Creek of Ray Creek Orchids for a talk about orchids, the varieties that he grows and the growing conditions that they thrive in. This is followed by a two course lunch and an opportunity to buy orchids from Ray’s display.

£35 per person, includes a talk and two course lunch, and a gift of an orchid for each guest. The event starts with a talk at 11.30 which then leads in to lunch.