Forde Abbey And Gardens

Much like the Cistercian monks who farmed the land 900 years ago, Forde Abbey's kitchen garden (a Victorian add-on but very much in the spirit of Cistercian productivity!) is a hive of industry, growing not just cut flowers for the house but an array of seasonal vegetables for the cafe under the watchful eye and trowel of Olly Hone. Neat and orderly lines of vegetables intermingle with an ever-changing mix of cut flowers, grown without pesticides and using, where possible, na...tural solutions to deter 'unwelcome visitors.'
Olly will be sharing his hard-won knowledge of vegetable gardening at Toby's Garden Festival on 15/16th September on both days at 11.30am and 2.30pm when you can join him for a kitchen garden tour with some tempting titbits to enjoy while you wander. For more information, and to buy tickets visit: https://www.fordeabbey.co.uk/…/tobys-ga rden-harvest-festiv…/
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A supper club celebrating the best of what’s in season with local chef, Ed Versluys.
Ed has a knack of disappearing into the vegetable patch and rustling up a mouthwatering feast simply using the ingredients he has to hand – always seasonal, home-grown and invariably home reared.
On Saturday, the 8th September, we’ll be setting the table for our next supper club, dining in the kitchen garden weather permitting.
... It’s not a formal affair, but a casual smorgasbord of seasonal fare, so please bring friends and a bottle or two.
Tickets cost £30.
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Join us for a pizza making workshop at Forde Abbey, where you’ll be rolling up your sleeves and having a go yourself. Pizzas will be cooked in our wood-fired oven so bring willing hands and an appetite!
£10 per person
Times:... 11am, 12 noon & 1pm
(Children must be over 5 and accompanied by an adult).
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Wide open lawns and the space and freedom for a relaxed ramble, with fountain fun three times daily - why not make Forde Abbey part of your Bank Holiday plans.

"Sunset is still my favourite colour, and rainbow my second."
Enjoy the full rainbow effect in the long border with late summer colour that stretches out the sunshine months for a little bit longer.
The perfect backdrop to our pizza workshops on Tuesday 28th and Thursday 31st August. Roll up your sleeves for some hands-on fun for just £10.... https://www.fordeabbey.co.uk/…/half-ter m-pizza-…/2018-08-28/
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With a warm orangey hue in the evenings, the Autumn can be the best time of year to capture the essence of your garden behind a lens. But knowing how to, can sometimes prove elusive. Award-winning photographer Andrew Maybury will be leading taster garden-photography workshops at Toby's Garden Festival at Forde Abbey on 15th and 16th September, with tips and advice on capturing the abundance of late summer colour in the herbaceous borders. The sessions should suit those with s...ome prior knowledge of photography, who wish to further improve their skills. Bring your camera and any lenses with you for some hands-on practice, but if you would rather just listen and observe then that’s fine too. Andrew has practical tips and know-how to put you in the picture with help on composition, lighting and technique. Join him for a wandering workshop around the garden, the prefect excuse to linger over the dahlias and enjoy the floriferousness of the long borders in full bloom.
Workshop times: 11am-12pm or 2pm-3pm Price: £15 per person (tickets for Toby’s Garden Festival sold separately) For tickets and information, please contact Andrew Maybury (Please note, these workshops are taking place as part of Toby’s Garden Festival, so festival tickets need to be purchased separately here.)
To get in touch with Andrew, visit: https://www.andrewmaybury.co.uk/contact/< br> To buy tickets, visit: http://tobygardenfest.co.uk/…/tobys-gar den-harvest-festiva…/
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While the weather is still gentle and the soil is warm, now is a good time to plant new perennials, and at Toby's Garden Festival on the 15th & 16th September, we'll have a range of nurseries selling a selection of plants, shrubs, trees and flowers - with just enough time for them to put down good roots over the Winter and be bigger and healthier for it come next year.
Our nursery exhibitors are now online if anyone wants to check out all the tempting plants that are coming...... http://tobygardenfest.co.uk/…/whos-e… /plants-flowers-shrubs/
For discounted tickets, buy online in advance: http://tobygardenfest.co.uk/…/tobys-gar den-harvest-festiva…/
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There's a Autumnal twinge in the air, so the perfect time to be out and about in the garden and making the most of the Summer while it's here. Enjoy some seasonably good homemade cake and scones on the menu in the tearooms this weekend and keep an eye out for a glut of kitchen garden veg on sale in the shop.

Choose the right plants for your garden, and you'll have Summer colour right the way through until October, with jewel-like colours that will be decorated with cob webs come September. Enjoy a rainbow of colour in the kitchen garden and the long border, and be inspired by the choice on sale in the plant nursery. Open daily from 10am - 4pm.

It's a rainbow of colour in the long border in August.
There's still a few spaces on our pizza workshops on Tuesday 28th and Thursday 30th August. Wood fired in our cob oven for a delicious taste!
https://www.fordeabbey.co.uk/…/half-ter m-pizza-…/2018-08-28/
... And don't forget to book your place around the table at our September supper club, a three course celebration of all that is seasonal:
https://www.fordeabbey.co.uk/event/supper -club-3/
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Call them what you will – plants in the wrong place or plants that haven’t been planted – weeds are something that most gardeners will have had to deal with at some point. It’s always amazing how successfully weeds come back after a hard day’s weeding and haven’t we all at some point wondered if it’s worth the effort! Well now Candide’s Community Manager Aldetha Raymond suggests there is a different way to approach weeds. Instead of weeding them, why not eat them!
Change the ...way you look at weeds and see them as an ingredient for interesting dishes, and suddenly they are a useful crop.
Join Aldetha in the Demo Tipi on either day of Toby's Garden Festival to find out more about which weeds are good for the pot, and useful weed recipes. Her talk is guaranteed to provoke your taste buds and get you reaching for a knife and fork and not a hoe! You may never look at a dandelion in the same way again…
Talks free 11.30am both days in the Demo Tipi with Candide UK
For more information, visit: https://www.fordeabbey.co.uk/…/tobys-ga rden-harvest-festiv…/
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As the days get shorter and the nights get darker, all sorts of things come out of the wood work for Halloween half term. Join us for some spine-tingling fun in the grounds of this 900 year old Abbey.
Try your hand at pumpkin rolling on the main lawn. It’s great fun for all the family, just pick a homegrown one to suit your style and size and have a go!
There’ll be lots of hands-on Halloween craft for younger visitors and ghoulish bites to sink your teeth into.

Monday and some wispy waywardness in the garden.
Thanks to Gardens Illustrated for their lovely mention of our Autumn masterclass with Rosy Hardy, Sarah Price & Derry Watkins.
For more information, visit:... https://www.fordeabbey.co.uk/…/garden-m asterclass-autumn-e…/
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Vitamin D whatever the weather!
If you find yourself with a moment this weekend, do have a look at our jam- packed schedule of talks, demos and tastings at Toby's Garden Festival on the 15th/16th September. There's something for everyone with apple pressing, circus skills, paper flower making, have-a-go archery, meadow making, scything, tree listening, jam preserving, pickling, wreath making, charcuterie demo'ing, composting and home-grown not flown cut-flower posying. A busy... weekend with fun for all the family!
For a full schedule of events , visit:
https://www.fordeabbey.co.uk/…/tobys-ga rden-harvest-festiv…/
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The backdrop to our supper club on Saturday 8th September. A seasonal three-course feast in the kitchen garden with Mello View. Bring a bottle, bring friends and celebrate the best of Autumn's bounty.
Buy tickets online:
https://www.fordeabbey.co.uk/event/supper -club-3/

Dahlias are invaluable for the Summer border. A welcome splash of colour that continues right up until the first frosts - as late as October and sometimes November. There's a rainbow of colour and choice on sale in the Forde Abbey nursery, so do make time to pop in next time you visit.

Enjoy a wander in the gardens and wait for the centenary fountain to erupt into life.

Back to School for grown ups!
September is all about back-to-school but there’s no reason why the grown-ups can’t get stuck in and learn something new! At Toby's Harvest Festival at Forde Abbey on 15th and 16th September there are oodles of opportunities to learn from the experts, gardeners, chefs, craftspeople and even circus folk!
Storm in a Teacup's Little Wool Shop is bringing her rustic Knitting Tent where you can learn to knit and crochet or weave a simple friendship... bracelet in the cosy yurt surroundings, while WiveyWeaver - Yarn Alchemy is bringing her spinning wheel showing how the yarn gets made in the first place. In the Artisan Marquee Dartmoor artist Bee Watson from Wild Hive - Paper Florist will be teaching how to make realistic flowers, like cosmos, perfect as they never die or need dead-heading (from paper for ages 11-plus) while Georgie Newbery from Somerset Nursery Common Farm Flowers is in the Demo Tipi showing how to make a hand-tied bouquet from real flowers you have sown and grown in your own garden.
If your lettuces have bolted in the hot summer, Chris Onions and Ashley Wheeler from Dorset’s organic TRILL FARM have tasty ideas for sowing, growing and cooking with gluts and veg crops. For the sweet-toothed, Lillie O’Brien from the London Borough Of Jam is bringing her jam pan and explaining how to perfect conserves that are heavy on the fruit and low on the sugar, while Bunnies Love are running an all-day jam surgery on Saturday should you need some advice on improving your pickles and preserves.
For more information and to buy tickets online, visit: http://tobygardenfest.co.uk/buy-tickets-f or-tobys-garden-h…/
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Wonderful place to wonder around. Very tranquil and interesting. The gardens have different areas to wonder around and plenty of seating from which to relax and enjoy the scenery.

There is a great cafe, with indoor and outdoor seating. Both the coffee and cake were delicious.

Looking forward to returning at a different time of the year to see what treats are displayed.

We visited Forde Abbey yesterday after going to the Fruit picking ( on our to do list ) loved the strawberry picking you take your own container and they weigh what you pick and charge you for them, there were Strawberry's, gooseberry's, and Raspberry's, we just picked the Strawberry's and they were the best we have ever eaten. Then we went to Forde Abbey note the house is closed on a Saturday and Monday so we just explored the gardens we have been many times before but they never disappoint. Definitely recommend it for a day out.

Visited on Easter Friday for the Alice in Wonderland Easter Trail and found Forde Abbey to be very interesting. Beautiful well kept house and Gardens. The smell of the freesias in the house were amazing. Had a light lunch in the cafe. Most excellent food.. and the Simnel cake was to die for!! Would highly recommend :)

The gardens are stunning and the fountain spectacular but check which way the wind is blowing or you might get wet. We used the restaurant for morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea and it's about the same price wise as a National Trust property but everything was lovely and there are plenty of places to sit if you prefer to picnic. A huge advantage to Forde Abbey is a very dog friendly attitude as opposed to the National Trust who don't care about that other important member of your family. Incidentally, we saw no evidence of irresponsible dog owners which is the pathetic excuse National Trust used to keep dogs out of their gardens. Well done Forde Abbey for helping to make our Silver Wedding Anniversary a very special day.

Such a lovely dog friendly place. Lovely staff greeted us with dog biscuits and a huge bowl of water. Nice map to show us around. Lovely ground to wonder in

Stunning beautiful gardens, and a fabulous house to visit. The house was well worth the small extra charge, with lots to see, well explained throughout.



Staff were friendly and I’d very much recommend a look at Simon Eeles beautiful pottery.

Also a really lovely chap.



Totally happy to recommend a visit.

Our first visit today to do the Wizard of Oz trail. Children loved the different activities and exploring the gardens. �

Not a great Easter event this year sadly! :-( very poor & not value for money. Collecting 3 stickers with very little to find or discover on the way round was a bit disappointing to be honest. No real atmosphere this year & a tiny hollow egg at the end.......they had five of those before we left home!! :-/ Also, the cafe is very over priced & although the venue says it is open til 4:30pm the cafe stop their hot food & take down their food boards at 2:30pm!!!! Rubbish customer service especially when you still have a steady stream of people coming in wanting to warm up!

Never disappoints! A magically beautiful place for all. We absolutely loved Land of Oz Easter trail today and we look forward to visiting soon again!

My wife and I had 2 weeks camping near Bridport, Dorset....and we had 2 visits to Forde Abbey & Gardens..

The first visit we toured the beautiful house...each room so full of history....beautiful art , and family heirlooms....the walled gardens were really well tended....as were the formal gardens and the fountain.........Wow ! My wife wanted to know why our own water garden fountain wouldn't go that high.......hmmmph....you've got to wonder sometimes..

The 2nd visit..was to the Annual Garden Fete.....all for charities..lots of things for children, and adults alike...Jonathan Marshall all day a great display of horsemanship and falconry all together on horseback.....

Either way...a great place to visit..

Oh..and the tea rooms and the cakes.......you won't like any of them......�

Had a great time at Forde Abbey yesterday for the Land of Oz event. Well done to all involved

Had a really lovely day yesterday.The sun shone and gardens looking beautiful ,birds singing away,friendly staff and lovely Alice in Wonderland theme .A great day out for the children, and a calm relaxing atmosphere.A long queue in cafe but worth the wait , loved the easter nest cakes.

Great family day out, fun to meet scarecrow, tin man and lion, Easter treat. Bring wellies.

Great day out. Gardens are superb. The cafe is delicious.



Well worth the entrance fee.

30 acres of gardens to stroll around. My favourite was the bog garden. So many different flowers, trees, shrubs. The fountain was very impressive. £10 each to get in. The coffee was a bit meh and at £2.30 not worth it. The house was closed so I can't comment on that. Oh, dogs on leads are welcome. I doubt many kids would like it but it's worth a visit.

Lovely place and perfect for a romantic and peaceful day out. It has still kept the historic spirit and is a place of tranquility and beauty. Ponds and lakes, flowers and small hills to run for the kids who loved it! Caused some anxiety as the kids were tempted to run around a lot with open water always nearby. Kept us busy!

We were very disappointed by our visit to see the Christmas decorations and gardens. Really not worth the £10 per person entry.

Although alot of effort had clearly gone into making some of the floral arrangements the house lacked any significant festive feel. It didn't feel like a celebration or party could just be about to start.

The gardens were just floodlights, no festive lights at all.

Perhaps you might consider amongst other things for example; putting presents under the trees, having carol singing or festive music, ensuring that all the fires are lit and kept roaring, stockings on the mantles, festive lights outdoors, complementary mince pies and mulled wine.

This is a shame as we have visited on several occasions at other times of the year and have previously always really enjoyed our visits.

Very disappointed that you didn't put up any Christmas lights in the gardens only flood lights and saying it's child friendly is not true the children were looking forward to seeing Christmas lights but it was very dark we appreciate that it's your first year but we paid £30 for nothing we've been before and the kids loved it but this was a such a let down and a bit of a con

Very poor Easter Event. Advertised as chocolate treats along the way. No such thing. Paid £40 entry for a very basic map and children had to collect 3 stickers. All the props were easy to find and spotted all 3 of them as soon as we entered the park. Got 1 tiny hollow egg at the end. Only took 40 minutes to complete. Main house was closed so couldn't even go in there. Falsely advertised, complete rip off!