Award-winning

The imaginative and innovative revival of the famous Italian Gardens was led by renowned designer and multi-Chelsea gold-medal winner Tom Stuart-Smith. To the east of the Italian Gardens are the Rivers of Grass and the adjacent Floral Labyrinth. Both these schemes were designed by eminent Dutch plantsman, and Chelsea gold-medal winner, Piet Oudolf.

Garden of the Year

Trentham Gardens are proud to have received many accolades including the Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism Gold Award, Countryfile Garden of The Year, Horticulture Week Custodian Awards and in 2015, 2016 and 2017 were awarded a Gold Accolade by Visit England.

Trentham Lake

At the heart of Trentham Gardens is the spectacular, mile-long, Capability Brown-designed Trentham Lake. Studded with small islands the Lake is alive with the sights and sounds of a wonderful array of wildlife. The circular lakeside walk takes in views of the River Trent, ancient wildflower meadows and woodlands, through the cascading weir and along atmospheric nature trails. There is so much to explore and be inspired by, including the bold and dramatic naturalistic planting design; ‘modern meadows’ by Nigel Dunnett creator of the acclaimed plantings at the Olympic Park, London. Created for successional seasonal interest and environmental suitability.

The Italian Gardens

The Italian Garden layout is designed within the historic framework of Sir Charles Barry’s original Italianate Garden of the 19th Century.

The gardens have never stood still at Trentham, and in the approach to restoration it’s important to allow the garden to continue to move forward, not back. Trentham commissioned renowned RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medallist Tom Stuart-Smith, to revive The Italian Garden with one of the largest contemporary perennial plantings in Europe. In the Spring they add pots of colourful tulips followed by early summer colour from the wisteria, bearded iris and roses. The perennial displays are in their peak in late summer and autumn.