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Grounds & Gardens

Located behind Marwell Hall and next to the back lawn, our Formal Garden includes a representation of three garden styles of the 16th and 17th century

Stroll around our knot, parterre and kitchen gardens and become acquainted with both the plants and their uses.

 

Knot Garden

This type of garden was very popular in the Tudor period. Our knot garden uses small box hedging to frame the perimeter, with box and lavender crossing at strategic locations within this frame. Roses and pinks serve as fill in plants within the design .The term knot derives from the over and under of threads used in an English knot, or strapwork, needlework pattern. The hedge height rises at hedge junctions to indicate the crossing of threads.

Watch a video of one of Marwells Gardens on YouTube.

 

Parterre Garden

By the 17th century, knot gardens were considered dated and other garden styles such as the parterre became fashionable. This French name means on the ground. Parterres might include a group of flower beds laid out in a formal pattern, often surrounded by hedging, and occasionally having a central feature. These gardens became fashionable in the 1600s and had a revival in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. Colourful roses and lilies feature in our garden.

 

Kitchen Garden

This garden would have been used for cultivating herbs, fruit and vegetables for the Hall’s kitchen. Our garden has been designed with a formal pattern and is separated from the rest of the ornamental gardens, as was often the case. Herbs were popular in the 16th century for a variety of uses. Many such as marjoram and lemon balm were used for culinary, medicinal and occasionally aromatic purposes. Vegetables such as carrots became popular in the 17th century and the plants we are growing here today may have been typical of gardens then.

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What's nearby?
Outdoor picnic areas
Adventure playgrounds
Ice creams

Disappointed

Very disappointed as lots of empty cages and last time we came there was a herd …

Emma – 1 week ago

Fantastic!

Fantastic visit once again

Katie – 1 week ago

Great day out

Great day out , lots of toilets didn’t have to queue for very long anywhere wh…

Trusted customer – 1 week ago

Very pleasant all round Thamkyou

All set out well easy to walk round. Lovely and clean Staff very good really hel…

Clive – 1 week ago

Great day out and sunny

Excellent day out quieter in the autumn can get too see the animals, birds etc e…

Paul – 1 week ago

Very well laid out zoo with lots of interesting animals that you can get close t…

Trusted customer – 1 week ago

Always a brilliant zoo, variety of animals’, always looked after and cared for. …

Joshua – 1 month ago

Definitely worth a visit, great value for money. Animals well cared for

Had a delightful time with my 2 year old granddaughter! Will definitely be going…

Catherine – 1 month ago

Great day out

Great visit, I took my mother, as she hasn’t been to the zoo in a long time! We …

Dee – 1 month ago

A great visit, our first time back for a number of years

Lovely day out at the zoo, our first visit back there in years – now with grown …

Trusted customer – 1 month ago

We have loved coming to visit Marvell Zoo for many years. Always an enjoyable da…

Barbara – 1 month ago

Fantastic zoo, great walks plenty of different animals to see.. Main food hall …

Leonard – 1 month ago

Great selection of animals. The park has really positively developed since my la…

Trusted customer – 1 month ago

Great day out but a map to carry would be helpful.

Great day out. Staff in the restaurant were helpful, I was with my gran daughter…

Trusted customer – 1 month ago

A small, family friendly zoo

Mar well is a lovely place to go, particularly with smaller children. We visited…

Jo-Anne – 1 month ago

Fantastic family day out

A fantastic day out seeing some beautiful animals. Our little boy loved the Gira…

Daniel – 1 month ago

Thorouly enjoyed day. Not crowded as weekday and not school holidays so time to …

Susan – 1 month ago

Our First Visit to Marwell Zoo

This happened to be our first experience coming here. But I was well pre…

Teresa Lloyd – 1 month ago

Great day out with lots to see, a large variety of animals. The staff are appro…

Trusted customer – 1 month ago