WELCOME

NORFOLK'S WILDLIFE-GARDENING & WILDFLOWER CENTRE

Tranquil, wildlife-friendly gardens to delight and inspire

Wildflower Meadows

Interesting & Unusual Plants

Plant Nursery

2023-2024 OPENING TIMES

Winter opening hours October-March are 10.30am-4pm, and we are closed on Mondays over the winter (but open on Monday 1st January 2024). The café is open for drinks, snacks and light lunches. There is no need to book for the café or gardens - just turn up on the day.

Mid-Winter Charcoal Burn & New Year Plant Hunt

We will be firing up our charcoal kiln in the woods on Tuesday 19th December and our annual New Year Plant Hunt will take place on Tuesday 2nd January 2024. More details.

Christmas & New Year 2023-2024

We will be CLOSED from Saturday 23rd December to Thursday 28th December, re-opening on Friday 29th December. We will then be OPEN on Saturday 30th December, New Year's Eve Sunday 31st December, and New Year's Day Monday 1st January, and then as usual Tuesday to Sunday.

CHARGES

Free parking; free entrance to nursery & shop. Entrance to gardens and grounds, low season November-February, adults £3.50, no charge for children aged 16 and under.

Why not become a 'Friend' of Natural Surroundings? Friends can visit the gardens and reserve free of charge (during normal opening times only) and receive our email newsletter, the Bayfield Botanica. More Details.

DOGS

Well-behaved dogs are very welcome, but must be on a short lead at all times throughout the site (and short means less than two metres please - long flexi-leads can be a significant trip hazard for our staff and customers!).

LOCATION

Find us on the minor road between Letheringsett (on the A148 just west of Holt) and Wiveton – just follow the brown ‘wildflower centre’ signs. Postcode: NR25 7JN.

CONTACT

Phone: 01263 711091
E-mail: wildlife@naturalsurroundings.info

THE LITTLE CAFÉ IN THE WOODS

Our on-site café offers a variety of drinks, home-made cakes and snacks and light lunches. There is no need to book - we operate on a 'first come first served' basis. More details.

Salsify - you have to visit before lunch to enjoy the flowers fully open!

NATURAL SURROUNDINGS 

We are a small business based in North Norfolk, close to the town of Holt and just a stone’s throw from Blakeney and Cley-next-the-Sea. We offer a very special combination of wildlife-friendly gardens and grounds, as well as a cafe, shop and plant sales. Natural Surroundings is owned and managed by Anne and Simon Harrap, and either Anne or Simon (or both) are usually on site, and are always happy to offer help and advice. More details About Us .

Beautiful gardens … A peaceful haven from the troubles of the World, buzzing with wildlife

Our gardens and grounds extend over 8 acres (3.25 hectares), on gently sloping ground between a wooded hillside and the River Glaven. Ours is a fairly compact site, but it is designed to showcase every aspect of wildlife-friendly gardening - to excite and inspire - and we cultivate a great variety of plants, both from Britain and from further afield. Most visitors take an hour or two to wander around, but you can spend all day at Natural Surroundings, especially in the summer when there is so much to see. Take your time, sit and enjoy the view (we have several scenic viewpoints), and soak up the atmosphere of North Norfolk well away from the current troubles.

More Details.

.

Sea Kale in full flower in the Tea Gardens

Horned Rampion - new to our nursery in 2020

The Plant Shop - wildlife-friendly plants for every garden

We are a small independent nursery, specialising in wildlife-friendly plants. We sell a wide range of garden-worthy native British wild flowers, as well as plants from around the Northern Hemisphere - from Europe, Asia and North America. Some of our plants are cottage garden classics, but we also stock a range of unusual plants seldom seen in nurseries. We stock herbaceous perennials, climbers, shrubs and small trees, as well as plants for ponds and bog gardens. Many of the plants that we sell have been propagated on site, and all our plants are grown in peat-free compost.

More Details