The walled garden in Thornes Park now contains the Flower Garden by the Gardener’s House, the Rose Garden and the Conservatory. It was originally the kitchen garden for Thornes House. Exotic fruits such as peaches, nectarines, pineapples and grapes were grown in a number of greenhouses and figs, pears and Morello cherries grew out of doors.Nearer to Thornes House glasshouses contained carnations, orchids and camellias and oranges, palms,ferns and banana plants were grown in the conservatory. In June 1801, 19 boxes of fruit were dispatched to London for a supper given by Mrs Milnes – the lady of the house at that time – to celebrate King George III’s birthday.
Now the Flower Garden features a dazzling display of bedding plants in the summer months and the Rose Garden contains a number of rose beds with a pergola of climbing roses giving shade and fragrance in the summer. The Rose Garden also contains a fountain which was restored in 1998 and has been renovated in 2014.
