Walled gardens, historic buildings, specialist nurseries – they can all be found in Dorset, if you know where to look. Now a guide has been published to help gardening enthusiasts discover the hidden havens in the east of the county, and find out where to buy specialist plants.

The Specialist Nurseries and Hidden Gardens of East Dorset was spearheaded by Rachel Limb, tourism manager at East Dorset District Council, in a bid to promote the area at local and national garden shows.

Its aim was to encourage visitors to the area to find the best places to buy quality plants, and where to enjoy walled gardens and historic garden buildings. The guide also provides details of local accommodation, including country cottages, and an Edwardian country home – all with their own delightful gardens to enjoy.

It has been such a success that the leaflet has now been named Most Innovative Small Business Friendly Programme, Project or Campaign by the Wessex Region of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

The FSB praised the initiative for providing horticultural businesses with new routes to market, new sales opportunities and access to wider promotional skills and advice.

The win was part of the fifth annual FSB Small Business Friendly Awards designed to identify the best small business-friendly initiatives undertaken by the region’s local authorities.

“It is so important for the council to work with local businesses to boost the rural economy,” explained Cllr Malcolm Birr, chairman of East Dorset District Council.”

Rachel Limb added: “This has been a wonderful project to be involved in. The nursery owners and accommodation providers have all been so keen to work together and to form links, which has made it a really positive experience.

“I hope more can be done to build on the strong foundations that have been put in place. There is already an active Facebook page on which we are sharing local horticultural news and information and plenty of new ideas are being put forward such as an annual plant fair.”

Neil Lucas is the owner of Knoll Gardens, one of the gardens featured in the guide.

He said: “By definition, specialist nurseries are usually small, but their importance shouldn’t be overlooked as they are the guardians of many important garden plants.

“I’m delighted that the work of the tourism team at East Dorset has been recognised in this way.”

  • Copies of the guide are available from the Wimborne Tourist information Centre on 01202 886116 or you can download it from visit-dorset.com/about-the-area/areas-to-visit/rural-dorset