Stillingfleet Lodge Garden Walk in September

Vanessa Cook is leading a guided walk through Stillingfleet Lodge Gardens on Wednesday 2 September, the garden's owner showing you around her own work. It's a September walk, so the focus is on what's in bloom and coming into its own this time of year, with a good bit of it aimed at anyone who keeps a garden of their own.

Stillingfleet Lodge is a family garden that's been tended for over 40 years, and it shows. There are more than 600 varieties of unusual and interesting plants across the grounds, all grown organically to keep the wildlife coming back. It's a quiet spot—the kind of place where you can sit by the pond and hear the birds and the bees working around you, or wander through the wildflower meadow and along the herbaceous border. There's also a tea room on site that shows work by local artists, so you can grab a drink and some homemade cake before or after.

On the walk itself, Vanessa talks through the best plants for keeping borders looking good throughout the year, and she explains how she balances a high-impact planting scheme with practices that support local wildlife. It's a chance to hear the thinking behind the garden from the person who actually grows it, rather than just seeing the finished result.

The walk is included in the afternoon entry to the garden, and places are limited to 12, allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The gardens are at 4 The Green, Stillingfleet, York, YO19 6SQ.