Great activities to enjoy together in the garden

We  have now completed our call for our 2026 Exhibition and have 54 sculptors signed up to bring 106 fabulous pieces of art to the garden for visitors to enjoy.

2026  Exhibition Sculptors

Spend a fun morning with Katy your tutor and other students to learn how to create a beautiful wool painting.

“We start with a practical demonstration of felt-making, an exploration of all the different wool and other fibres that I have available for you to use. Then you will make a felted wool picture. You can choose to make a picture of the Himalayan Gardens or create one of your own, bring a reference picture if needed.”

You will select from a wide choice of gorgeous coloured wools, fibres and textural yarns. Explore blending and mixing wool colours and different types of fibres together. Learn about the differing properties of wool and plant fibres. Try out embedding different fibres and yarns into the felted surface to create texture and form in your felted picture. 

All the materials and equipment you need will be provided. Katy will also provide aprons, gloves and a plastic bag to take home your finished picture.

Workshop Details:

May 16^th 2026, 10am until 1pm 

Price: £50 per person

Limited places, booking essential email: info@himalayangarden.com to book 

Spring brings a magnificent display of colour from one of the North’s largest collection of rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias.

Join us for a special spring tour and lunch with the garden team and find out more about our rarer plants and the National Collection cared for by the team and get top tips fr your garden at home. 

Experience Details:

Thursday 21st May, 11am – 2pm                       

Cost: £40 (£30 for Season Ticket Holders)

To book please email :  info@himalayangarden.com 

We are pleased to offer visitors  an new experience this season with the Japanese art of  Shinrin Yoku.

Shinrin Yoku which translates as “ Forest Bathing”, refers to the practice of immersing yourself in nature to improve your physical and emotional well-being. We know that being outdoors is good for you, but did you know just how good?  Scientific research indicates that just 20 minutes in a Forest or Woodland can reduce your stress levels; help improve mental health; decrease blood pressure; improve your immune system and help with memory and concentration. 

The benefits of Forest Bathing and being outdoors are such that the NHS now offers Green Prescriptions through its Social Prescribing Agenda.  The UK National Parks are now also offering Nature Prescriptions for 2026. In a world where disconnection and isolation impact our physical and emotional health, nature connection can deliver some much needed boosts.

Knowing that we have within our gardens the opportunity to improve physical and emotional well-being we wanted our visitors to not only see our beautiful gardens but also experience the sensory nature connection that is an abundance, from the smell of our majestic pine trees to the joy of the divine bird song. 

We have teamed up with JORD Forest Therapy jordforesttherapy.co.uk to deliver these slow mindful guided sensory exploration of the beautiful nature connection we have at the Himalayan gardens.

For those that want a more deeper connection with nature – see below to join us:

Forest Explorations take place on: 

Thursday 14th May, 18th June, 16th July, 17th September, 15th October

10.30am – 12 noon

Limited spaces (sorry no children or dogs but family groups could be arranged separately)

Cost:  £5 per person plus normal garden entry.

To book email us on:  info@himalayangarden.com

Botanical Illustration is the art of depicting plant forms accurately, to capture their individual characteristics and to aid identification. This 3-day workshop involves step by step guidance, demonstration and individual tuition from award winning artist, Bridget Gillespie covering drawing, composition and watercolour techniques. Suitable for complete beginners to intermediate painters

Bridget Gillespie has been a Botanical Illustrator for over 23 years after taking a degree in Graphic Design. A request to paint a friend’s wedding bouquet led to botanical specialism. Bridget has exhibited in Cambridge, Durham, Yorkshire and London. In 2002, 2008, 2017 and 2018 she was awarded Gold Medals by the RHS who have purchased several pieces for their archive collection. Bridget has works in the RHS, Hunt Institute collections and illustrated The Northern Pomona.

Workshop Details: 

Tuesday 16^th – Thursday 18th June , 10am – 4pm   

3-day practical workshop including demonstrations, individual tuition and expert techniques. If you do not own your own equipment a list will be supplied for you to purchase before the course begins.

Tea, coffee and biscuits included each day as well as free entry to the garden.

Lunch can also be purchased from the Tearoom. Free parking.

Cost: £200 for the 3 days

Booking essential: Numbers are limited, please book early to avoid disappointment on info@himalayangarden.com