Open Wild Gardens
On Saturday 28 June, from 10am to 4pm, Transition Woodbridge will present Woodbridge and Melton’s very own Open Wild Gardens!
This year is the year of the pond. There will be open gardens with a range of ponds, from large to tiny. If you have ever thought about building a pond, come and find advice and inspiration.
There will be friendly volunteers to direct you from garden to garden and you are sure to find tea and cakes – indicated by this icon:
…And a small plant sale – indicated by this icon:
Please note that dogs are not permitted in these gardens and that generally there will be areas of uneven pathways or terrain.
Below, you will find a static map of the various gardens, and a table giving more information about each of them. You can also:
- Access an interactive version of the map
- Get a printable PDF with all the information
Map of the gardens
Information about the gardens
Woodbridge Prep School,
Cumberland St entrance,
IP12 4AP
Between 2-4pm come and visit the school’s beautiful ponds, where Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Charlie Zakss will offer advice about how to create and maintain your own. Pond-dipping too!
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. No dogs.
18 Hall Farm Road,
Melton
IP12 1PJ
A large, mature suburban garden focused on encouraging wildlife and providing rich habitats for nature. With two ponds, many trees, shrubs and borders plus lots of wild areas, the garden is a sanctuary for wildlife and humans alike.
Accessibility: Good accessibility and some parking near the house. Some uneven pathways but generally level.
64 Bury Hill,
Melton
IP12 1JD
A garden where space has been made for nature in every corner, with a mini-meadow, trees, perennials, dead wood and a little pond.
Accessibility: Good accessibility and some parking near the house.
Leeks Hill House,
Leeks Hill,
Melton
IP12 1LW
A very special wild garden, with a natural spring which has been dammed to make a beautiful pond in the middle of flower-filled woodland.
Accessibility: There is limited parking in the driveway and a long, steep, uneven pathway down through marshy terrain. Also accessible for the energetic through Melton Woods or the footpath from Fernhill Close.
15 Grove Gardens,
Woodbridge
IP12 4LL
Delightful hidden wild space with a meandering series of small ponds and bog garden.
Accessibility: Some parking nearby. No steps, pathway has some slightly tight turns.
2 Hasketon Road,
Woodbridge
IP12 4JR
A large nature-friendly garden with mature and juvenile trees, grasses and wildflowers. 3 ponds of various sizes are home to an abundance of wildflife such as newts, frogs, dragonflies, caddisflies and ivy cellophane bees! Also 4 swift boxes.
Accessibility: A little parking on driveway, some on road. Good accessibility to patio to view garden, but with small, steep incline or steps to get up to the ponds and main garden area.
1A Burkitt Road,
Woodbridge
IP12 4JJ
An unexpected gem of a garden hidden behind a wooden door in a brick wall, with a beautifully designed pond.
Accessibility: Some parking in road. Difficult accessibility for those with limited mobility, with steps into the garden.
2 Ash Close,
Woodbridge
IP12 4BP
Small, wild front garden with a tiny bucket pond hidden amongst the flowers.
Accessibility: Some parking. Good visibility from pavement.
5 Warren Hill Road,
Woodbridge
IP12 4DT
Lovely wild, front garden with mini-meadow. Beautifully landscaped nature-friendly back garden with an established pond, backing onto woodland.
Accessibility: Good: some parking in driveway and in road. Level pathways, other than steps up to patio.
6 Fynn Road,
Woodbridge
IP12 4LS
A newly-created pond using a recycled 1m², ceramic shower base, in a gravel and brick front garden, which is being rewilded. Drought-tolerant plants are beginning to take over the gravel areas and the small back garden’s lawn has been disappearing with the introduction of a wide variety of perennials: hedgehogs have taken up residence, too.
Accessibility: Excellent: some parking available on roadside. No steps.
13 Wilderness Lane,
Woodbridge
IP12 1EH
A 20-year old pond made using a vinyl liner over old carpet. The pond is 70cm deep at its centre, with a shelf at one end for plants and the other graduated with large stones to allow amphibians, such as frogs and newts, to get in and out. In springtime it is alive with frogs mating and plenty of tadpoles.
Accessibility: Limited parking nearby. The pond can be easily viewed from the lane with an accessible gravel garden in the front.
37 Deben Road,
Woodbridge
IP12 1AZ
A pond in a very wild, small front garden with mature hedges and trees.
Accessibility: Difficult to park nearby with a step down into the garden from the pavement.
1 Kingsway,
Woodbridge
IP12 1BA
A cottage garden tucked away behind trees and hedges with a little pond.
Accessibility: Difficult to park nearby. Uneven ground, but generally level.
Haddon Approach,
Sutton
IP12 3DR
A nature haven off the beaten track on the other side of the Deben, in the middle of agricultural land and some unexpected green space.
Accessibility: Some parking outside. Uneven pathways.