A day at Fullers Mill Garden

Fullers Mill Garden sits on the banks of the River Lark at West Stow, a few miles north-west of Bury St Edmunds. It covers seven acres, and the water is everywhere — the mill pond, the river itself, and the Culford Stream all run through or alongside the site, so that at almost any point in the garden you are either looking at water or hearing it. The garden opens in April and runs through to November, admitting adults for £10 and children under sixteen free.

How it began

The garden was created by Bernard Tickner MBE, who was born in 1924 and died in 2017. He moved to Fullers Mill in 1958 and spent more than fifty years working the site — starting from rough scrub and woodland and building, plant by plant, what visitors see today. That span of time shows in the scale and maturity of the planting: this is not a garden assembled quickly. Tickner's approach was that of a plantsman rather than a designer in the formal sense, and the collection reflects it — unusual shrubs, perennials, lilies, and marginal plants chosen for their individual interest as much as for any overall scheme. The garden is now managed by Perennial, the UK charity supporting people who work in horticulture, and Head Gardener Annie Dellbridge leads the team of gardeners and volunteers who maintain it.

The collection

The planting divides broadly between the dappled woodland sections and the waterside margins, though the two overlap constantly. Shrubs and perennials carry the garden through the seasons, with lilies prominent in summer and marginal plants softening the edges of the mill pond and streams. One detail from the garden's history that Country Life recorded: Tickner used discarded filter plates from the mash tuns at local breweries to protect trees — a piece of practical improvisation that says something about how the garden was built, with whatever came to hand. The River Lark winds through the site, and the reflections off the water — of the planting, the light through the canopy — are part of what the garden offers at every season.

Recognition and partnerships

Fullers Mill is an RHS Partner Garden, which means RHS members get free access on Wednesdays from April through October. In 2022 it was named Midland and East of England RHS Partner Garden of the Year. It is also listed with the National Garden Scheme. These affiliations matter practically: they bring a degree of external oversight and connect the garden to a wider network of visitors who plan trips around RHS and NGS listings.

Events

The garden runs a programme of events through the season. In May 2026, Reinhild Raistrick — a Fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists — leads a two-day watercolour course on site, running from 10am to 4pm on 5th and 6th May, priced at £130. Local professional photographer Phil Morley returns for photography workshops, described as a regular fixture. These are not large-scale events; they are small, skill-focused sessions that use the garden as their subject. Group bookings are also available, handled separately from general admission.

On site

Beyond the garden itself, there is a café, plant sales, and a gift shop. The plant sales are worth noting — a garden with a plantsman's collection of this depth tends to propagate and sell material that reflects the collection, which is a different proposition from a standard garden centre. The café and shop are run as part of the Perennial operation, with proceeds supporting the charity's work with horticulturists facing hardship. The address given on most listings is Icklingham Road, Bury St Edmunds, IP28 6HB, though some sources list the postcode as IP28 6HD — it is worth using the telephone number (01284 728888) or the website to confirm directions before travelling, as the site is within the King's Forest and rural approach roads can be confusing.

The setting

West Stow is a small village in the Breckland, the sandy heathland and forest landscape that stretches across the Suffolk-Norfolk border. The King's Forest — a large Forestry England plantation — surrounds the area. The garden sits within this landscape rather than against it: the woodland sections of the site connect visually and ecologically to the broader forest edge. West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village, an archaeological reconstruction site, is nearby, which makes the area a reasonable destination for a longer day out. Bury St Edmunds is roughly five miles to the south-east.