Furzey Gardens

Furzey Gardens Furzey Gardens The gardens were planted out with a rare collection of Rhododendrons, trees and shrubs in the 1920s.
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Having later fallen into disrepair the gardens were restored and placed into the care of a charitable trust (The Furzey Gardens Charitable Trust, registered number 271485) in the 1970s. Following this an art and craft gallery and tea-rooms were built and the gardens extensively replanted. It is recorded that more than £7,000 was spent on grubbing out the rough gorse and importing tons of good tops

oil before putting in often rare rhododendrons and azaleas. Other notable plants include many Embothrium coccineum, the tender and spectacular Chilean fire bushes that present a fantastic picture in May, their spidery, scarlet tubular flowers blazing with colour. Many acid-loving trees such as the tall eucryphias, of which there are several species, all with pure white, scented flowers from late July, were also planted, as were bulbs and plants which largely look after themselves, such as foxgloves; wild strawberries, anemones and little orchids.

An update from the Tea Rooms for Sunday 30 & Monday 31 August. 🌿Due to staff shortages, all hot drinks at Furzey Gardens...
28/08/2026

An update from the Tea Rooms for Sunday 30 & Monday 31 August. 🌿

Due to staff shortages, all hot drinks at Furzey Gardens will be served in takeaway cups on Sunday 30 and Monday 31.
There will still be plenty of tasty treats available, including cakes, sandwiches, bacon baps and hot dogs.
Please note that unfortunately we won’t have any gluten-free savoury options available on these two days.

Please be kind and patient with our staff, who will be working very hard to serve you tasty treats.

Thank you so much for your understanding, and we look forward to welcoming you to Furzey Gardens 💚

Cosmic creativity overtakes the courtyard...Well, that's what happens when Julie (Dinky Pinkie Designs) comes aboard!Ju...
27/08/2026

Cosmic creativity overtakes the courtyard...
Well, that's what happens when Julie (Dinky Pinkie Designs) comes aboard!

Julie is a local artist, who very kindly volunteered her time to create... The Minstead Meteor. 🚀

Working alongside the people we support in the Woodwork workshop, Julie and the people we support brought the rocket to life. She carefully created textures and little details, whilst also leaving jobs to empower the people we support when she wasn't there.

Julie brought out the best in many people by empowering them and their opinions and enabling them to try out new skills.

Thank you Julie and the wonderful woodwork team!

26/08/2026

We'd like to say a really big thank you to all our wonderful visitors and supporters that have been commenting, sharing and visiting the gardens.

Thanks to your support, we are seeing the gardens busier with happy, smiling little ones, families and all ages enjoying the trail.

Lots of businesses around the New Forest are sharing the same message: we are open, ready to welcome you with beautiful landscapes to wander through, coffee shops to relax in and hotels for that well-earned rest!

With the bank holiday coming up, why not fill it with a little bit of Furzey magic!

- Visit our summer trail: Galactic Furzey, until 31 August
- Spot over 40 fairy doors hidden in the gardens
- Visit our thatched tea rooms (yummy cakes provided!)
- Follow the New Forest code

And, don't forget to PRE-BOOK your visit - it is essential to help us manage our carpark.

https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0xSk6F0

It's been a difficult few weeks for the New Forest. Local businesses are seeing a big loss of income, and we are among t...
24/08/2026

It's been a difficult few weeks for the New Forest. Local businesses are seeing a big loss of income, and we are among them. But the great news? The A31 is open, and Furzey Gardens is ready to welcome you!

We're grateful to our local newspapers that have shared our story over the last few days.
Here's just one: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0xP0-L0

The main headline? The A31 closure has impacted us quite substantially, with our visitor numbers down by 60%, losing nearly £25,000 in income.

This is usually our busiest time, and it's been hard to see the gardens quiet when there are usually excited little ones running around and enjoying our summer trail.

But with the A31 now open, we would love to welcome you back to the gardens.
Our CEO Adam says: 'The best way people can support us now is very simple: come and spend a day at Furzey. Visit the gardens, enjoy something in the tea rooms, explore the fairy doors or buy a plant to take home. Every visit helps Furzey recover and supports the opportunities we provide for neuro disabled people.'

It is essential to pre-book your visit, as you may unfortunately be turned away if we are at full capacity. Thank you for your understanding!

https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0xP0Gf0

The cottage garden is bursting with beautiful dahlias, from deep crimson to speckled pink that looks like a dusting of f...
22/08/2026

The cottage garden is bursting with beautiful dahlias, from deep crimson to speckled pink that looks like a dusting of fairy dust!

Aren't they just wonderful?

21/08/2026

Alien creatures invade Furzey Gardens! 🚀

Now it was time to show the creatures their new home for the summer. Building a trail takes alot of hard work, and good people.

Our brilliant 'Tuesday volunteers' took on the mission with enthusiasm, and we couldn't have done it without them! Each portal was installed, and the creatures built up around them.

The gardens started to feel a little mysterious...

And then, the rocket came... Taking 10 people to lift, and many more to build, the centre piece of the trail was taking place.

Thank you to every single brilliant person involved in the making of the trail!

Have you visited yet?

Galactic Furzey is kindly supported by Barratt Homes.

We have some exciting news from our neighbours at Minstead Hall! A live recording of Radio4's Gardeners Question Time is...
21/08/2026

We have some exciting news from our neighbours at Minstead Hall! A live recording of Radio4's Gardeners Question Time is happening next Tuesday 25th August at 5pm!

Please do go along with all your gardening questions and support the our local community.

The panel of gardening experts will be there to answer your questions and gardening conundrums!
Pippa Greenwood - Plant pathologist and broadcaster
Bethan Collerton - Head Gardener, Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Matthew Wilson - Garden Designer, writer and broadcaster

Tickets are only £4 and can be purchased here:

https://www.ticketsource.com/minstead-flower-show5

This recording precedes the 75th anniversary Minstead Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Show which will take place in the Hall on Saturday 5th September 2026. All are welcome.

Once the wooden creatures were ready, it was time for our brilliant, imaginative artists to 'come aboard!'And oh, they d...
18/08/2026

Once the wooden creatures were ready, it was time for our brilliant, imaginative artists to 'come aboard!'

And oh, they did.

Artists from all over Hampshire, and Dorset and Wiltshire too, answered our call, with amazing designs. It was all coming together.

One by one, they were dropped back to us, and the courtyard became home to 40 strange creatures for a while... Wonky portals and toothy grins greeted the people we support each morning!

We'd like to say a big thank you to every artist for their time, dedication and hard work. It's so incredible to create opportunities for such creativity!

You can read about each artwork here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0xydbg0

Galactic Furzey is kindly supported by Barratt Homes.

Alien creatures don't build themselves! Once the first sketches were complete, they made their way to the New Forest Day...
15/08/2026

Alien creatures don't build themselves!

Once the first sketches were complete, they made their way to the New Forest Day Opportunities woodcraft workshop, where people we support carefully cut, sanded and prepared each creature ready for its journey into the gardens.

Over the following months, strange new species began to emerge and entire worlds started to grow from sheets of timber and a lot of imagination.

Today, those creatures can be found hiding amongst the trees, waiting for brave explorers to discover them!

You can read more about the involvement of neurodisabled people here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0xwXFC0

Trail booklet, crayons and explorer badge are £3.50, and are additional to our suggested entrance donation. Pre book your visit to start the mission!

13/08/2026

The garden team have been hard at work in our lovely, wild, meadow!

This is what Abbie, co-head gardener, had to say:

'We did a cut back today, on this area that was heavy with bracken, as part of our work to improve biodiversity across our the meadow. Bracken can spread rapidly and form dense stands that shade out wildflowers and natural grasses. This reduces the variety of plants that can grow and limits the food and habitat available for insects, birds, and other wildlife.

By cutting and mulching the bracken, we reduce its ability to photosynthesise and, with repeated management over time (usually years), we can aim to gradually weaken its underground rhizomes.

This helps prevent bracken from dominating the meadow and creates opportunities for a more diverse range of native plants to establish and thrive.'

We can't wait to see what grows in this area - what do you expect we'll see?

Address

Furzey Gardens • Minstead • Lyndhurst
Minstead
SO437GL

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

02380 812464

Website

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