Yewfield Gardens, Land and Forest
The informal gardens comprise a patio garden of roses and perennials, vegetable gardens, wildflower lawns and an orchard of local apple and damson varieties. A network of paths leads through and around the gardens with benches placed in ideal locations, allowing you to take in the beautiful Lakeland views. We sell plants that we have raised ourselves, with the proceeds of the sales going back into the garden. The flowers and shrubs we grow are chosen especially to attract pollinating insects including Yewfield’s bees.
On the land we have two hay meadows that are some of the finest in the National Park. In June and July these meadows are a tapestry of species featuring yellow rattle, various orchids, knapweed, oxeye daises, eyebright and harebells. The hay that we make feeds our two fell ponies throughout the winter. In turn, the ponies graze the meadows, promoting species diversity. They also provide us with valuable manure for our compost heaps. We host an annual wildflower weekend course at the end of June for those interested in learning how to create and manage wildflower habitats. See our Concerts and Events page for more information.
Yewfield’s woodland consists largely of a mixture of coniferous species. We are thinning these with a view to converting the plantation to a more diverse mix of species. We have already planted several stands of native hardwoods such as alder, aspen, beech and oak. The thinnings are being extracted by horses to minimize the damage to the ground and to support a traditional forestry practice. Most of the timber is sold to a local company who supply the woodchip for the biomass boiler, which provides the hot water and heating in the guesthouse.
