Houghton Hall has announced Tulips at Houghton, a vibrant new spring event taking place in April 2026. Planned in collaboration with leading bulb specialists Peter Nyssen, who have supplied 25,000 tulip bulbs, the planting will transform the estate’s award-winning five-acre Walled Garden into a spectacular celebration of spring colour.
Set against the sights and sounds of the season, visitors will be invited to wander through avenues of blossom and enjoy a rich display of early-flowering plants and bulbs. The tulip displays have been carefully designed to complement each distinct area of the Walled Garden, evolving subtly over the weeks. Visitors can expect species tulips naturalised beneath old fruit trees, bold drifts of later-flowering varieties in borders and walkways, and numerous potted displays throughout the garden.
The Walled Garden was created in 1991 by Lord Cholmondeley, who lives at Houghton with his family, as a memorial to his grandmother, Sybil, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (née Sassoon). Designed with Paul Underwood, then Head Gardener at Houghton, with later additions by celebrated garden designers Julian and Isabel Bannerman, the garden is renowned for its blend of structure, imagination and horticultural excellence. It has won the Historic Houses and Christie’s Garden of the Year Award and featured on Monty Don’s British Gardens.
Divided into a series of themed ‘rooms’, including the Italian Garden, Rose Parterre, orchard, vegetable potager and Mediterranean garden, the Walled Garden offers a sequence of contrasting moods and planting styles. Sculpture is also a defining feature, with works by Richard Long RA, Stephen Cox RA and Jeppe Hein integrated throughout.
A significant highlight of Tulips at Houghton will be the first public presentation of three new sculptures by British artist Antony Gormley RA. Domain CXI, Domain CXII and Domain CXIII—abstract, human-shaped forms constructed from stainless steel bars—will sit atop the garden wall. Their open framework creates a floating, almost weightless presence above the garden.
The tulip varieties have been selected to coincide with the Walled Garden’s anticipated opening on Saturday 11 April, and displays are expected to continue until early May, subject to seasonal conditions. Visitors are encouraged to sign up for email updates via www.houghtonhall.com, where progress will also be shared alongside updates on Instagram and Facebook.
Tickets will be available for advance purchase online, with full details announced shortly.
Opening Dates
The Houghton Hall Walled Garden is expected to be open for Tulips at Houghton from Saturday 11 April, then every Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday throughout April, and across all three days of the May Bank Holiday weekend (2–4 May).
