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Abbotsbury
Gardens
- Established in 1765 by the first Countess of
Ilchester as a
kitchen garden to her nearby castle. Developed since then into
a magnificent 20 acre garden filled with rare and exotic
plants from all over the world. Most of these were new
introductions to this country, found by the plant hunting
descendants of the Countess. |
| Abbotsbury, Dorset |
 |
 |
 |
Arley
Hall & Gardens -
Arley Hall, with its ancient history and over 100 acres of
gardens and parkland, has been owned and maintained by the
same family for over 500 years. The original hall was built by
Piers Warburton in 1468 and the cruck barn and other
outbuildings date from that period. |
| Nr Northwich, Cheshire |
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Audley End House and Gardens
- Wonder at the
lavish interiors reflecting past generations of style
and relax in the lovingly restored 19thC parterre garden
with its elaborate floral displays and beautiful Elysian
garden cascade. |
| Essex |
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Barnsdale
Gardens are the
creation of Geoff Hamilton, Britain's best loved television
gardener and presenter of BBC TV's Gardener's World weekly
gardening programme, which Geoff presented from his home at
Barnsdale in Rutland. |
| Nr
Oakham, Rutland |
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Bedgebury
Pinetum has
one the finest collection of conifers in the
world, the garden is sited among lakes and valleys
in the Kent countryside. |
| Kent |
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The
Bishop's Palace and Gardens - More than
simply an historic house and garden, this splendid
medieval Palace has been the home of the Bishops of Bath
and Wells for 800 years. There are 14 acres of gardens
including the springs from which the city takes its name. |
| Wells, Somerset |
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Bodnant
Garden is one of the
most beautiful gardens in the UK, spanning some 80 acres of
land situated above the River Conwy on ground sloping towards
the west and looking across the valley towards the Snowdonia
range. |
| Nr Colwyn
Bay, Conwy, Wales |
|
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Borde
Hill is a garden of
contrasts that captures the imagination and delights the
senses. It is set in 200 acres of a traditional country estate
in the area of outstanding natural beauty lying between the
town of Haywards Heath and the village of Cuckfield. |
| Sussex |
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Caerhays
Castle & Gardens
- It was the third generation of the Williams family
living at Caerhays, who decided it was about time
something was done with the garden. This almost flippant
event was probably, as it turned out, the most important
thing to happen at Caerhays since the construction of
the castle more than 70 years before. |
| Cornwall |
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Castle
Howard have always impressed
visitors with their splendour and variety. Visitors may enjoy
extensive walks through woodlands, formal gardens, along terraces or
beside water, and view the buildings and sculptures in the landscape. |
| Castle Howard, Nr York,
North
Yorkshire |
|
|
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Chatsworth
House
- Home of the Duke & Duchess of Devonshire. Outside, visitors can
enjoy a new sensory garden and Elisabeth Frink's sculpture, Walking
Madonna. The farmyard
and playground is planning a new barn for displays, talks and
demonstrations, and there are new activities for young visitors. |
| Chatsworth is 8 miles
north of Matlock, signposted via Chesterfield. |
|
|
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Chelsea
Physic Garden
-founded in 1673, as the Apothecaries' Garden, the
garden has developed a major role in public
education focusing on the renewed interest in
natural medicine. |
| Chelsea, London |
|
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Cottesbrooke Hall
& Gardens - Award winning
formal gardens surround the Hall. They are laid out as
a series of individually planted 'rooms' that open up before
you. There are pergolas, statues and rose borders, and a short
stroll across the park will take you to the informal, magical
Wild Garden. |
|
Northampton, Northamptonshire |
|
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Dewstow - It is only when you
go below these gardens, and you enter the subterranean world
underneath, that you begin to understand the extent of the vision
and enormous amount of work and skills involved in creating Gardens
that were unique at the turn of the 20th Century. |
| Caerwent,
Wales |
| |
|
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Dorothy
Clive Garden
- Features a superb woodland garden, an alpine
scree, a damp garden and spectacular summer flower
borders. |
| Market
Drayton, Shropshire |
|
|
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Easton
Walled Gardens - 12 acres of
'lost' gardens. 400 years of gardening have created a
peaceful and settled atmosphere, enhanced by the
beautiful valley surrounding it. Until Winter 2001,
these gardens had been completely abandoned for 50
years. In 2009, seven years on, visitors can see more
than just a restoration project. |
| Lincolnshire |
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Eden Project
- In a giant crater in Cornwall nestle the largest conservatories in
the world. Inside: towering rainforests and
tropical crops, the hot, dusty Mediterranean with citrus groves and
gnarled cork oaks. Outside: crops and
landscapes of Chile, Cornwall and the Indian Hills. |
| St Austell, Cornwall |
|
|
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Edinburgh
Royal Botanic Garden
- The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was established in
1670 and includes three Regional Gardens - Benmore in
Argyll; Dawyck in the wooded hills of the Scottish
Borders and Logan on the Gulf Stream-warmed southern
peninsula of Dumfries & Galloway. |
| Scotland |
|
|
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Exbury
Gardens - The Gardens
are a spectacular 200 acre (100 hectare) site,
world-famous for the Rothschild Collection of
rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and rare trees and
shrubs. Exbury Gardens were awarded the coveted HHA/Christie’s
“Garden of the Year” in 2001. |
| Hampshire |
|
|
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Fountains Abbey &
Studley Royal Water Garden -
Attracting approximately 300,000 visitors a year, Fountains Abbey
and Studley Royal is the National Trust's most visited pay-for-entry
property. Acquired by the Trust from North Yorkshire County Council
in 1983, it was declared a World Heritage site in 1987. |
| Ripon, Nr
Harrogate, North Yorkshire |
|
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Great Dixter
- Great Dixter contains one of the largest surviving medieval
timber-framed halls in the country. The inspirational garden
was established and maintained by the Lloyd family over the
20th and 21st centuries. The
57-acre Great Dixter estate was the home of the famous
20th century gardener and writer Christopher Lloyd (Christo)
who spent his long and distinguished horticultural
career practising and communicating his dynamic approach
to gardening, while also ensuring the estate was
self-sufficient and sustainable. |
| East Sussex |
|
|
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Harewood
House is a great family day
out. Visit the Adventure Playground, explore the Gardens and Bird
Gardens, take a boat trip across the lake or marvel at the
collections in the House. |
| Nr Leeds, Yorkshire |
|
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RHS
Garden
- Harlow Carr -
Harlow Carr seeks to push the boundaries of design and
planting styles, creating displays that are beautiful
but on occasion, also provocative. Careful gardening
techniques, reflecting our respect for the environment,
ensure that flourishing wildlife can also be enjoyed on
a visit to the garden. |
| North
Yorkshire |
|
|
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Hatfield
House - A fine
Jacobean House and Garden in a spectacular countryside
setting. The garden at Hatfield House dates from the
early 17th century when Robert Cecil, Ist Earl of
Salisbury, employed John Tradescant the Elder to collect
plants for his new home. |
| Hertfordshire,
just 21 miles north of London. |
|
|
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Holker
Hall & Gardens
- The immaculately kept Gardens (25 acres in all) are
part woodland, part formal and essentially Victorian in
character, though never heavy or oppressive. The
200-acre 'natural' parkland is in fact the result of the
late 18th century planting of Lord George Cavendish. |
| Cumbria |
|
|
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RHS
Garden
- Hyde Hall - A
visit to the 360-acre Hyde Hall estate is unforgettable
in any season and allows visitors to immerse themselves
in nature. Hyde Hall is in an area of Essex that has
very low rainfall, and this factor combined with the
soil conditions and exposed nature of the site makes it
a challenging area to garden in. |
| Essex |
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|
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Kew Gardens
& Wakehurst Place
- The
fantastic Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place is a fabulous day out.
With amazing gardens, science & learning, conservation &
much more. |
| Surrey &
West Sussex |
|
|
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Levens Hall
- The Topiary Gardens at Levens are world-famous in
their own right, and are a must for any visitor to the
English Lake District. |
| Lake
District |
|
|
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Lost Gardens
of Heligan - The award winning
Lost Gardens of Heligan extend to some eighty acres of superb
pleasure grounds together with a magnificent complex of walled
gardens and a huge, productive vegetable garden, all fast returning
to their former glory. |
| St Austell,
Cornwall |
|
|
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Lullingstone
Castle - Historic
family mansion dating back to the time of Doomsday.
Frequented by Henry VIII and Queen Anne, the Manor House
and Garden, set within the beautiful Darent Valley close
to Sevenoaks, are open to the public from the 1st of
April to the end of September. |
| Eynsford, Kent |
| |
|
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Mount
Ephraim Gardens - The nine
acres of garden around Mount Ephraim have an atmosphere of peace and
tranquility. The garden layout is Edwardian, though bedding-out is
no longer practicable. Trees have been planted over many
generations, so there are mature specimens of oak, cedar, beech etc. |
| Faversham, Kent |
|
|
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Myddleton House Gardens
- Myddelton House was home to E A Bowles (1865 to
1954) who devoted much of his life to the creation of
the Garden. As an enthusiastic collector and
accomplished plantsman Bowles discovered and selected
many plants, in particular unusual varieties, many of
which can still be seen in the Garden today. |
| Enfield, Middlesex |
|
|
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National
Botanic Garden of Wales
- The first national botanic garden to be created in the
new millennium. The National Botanic Garden of Wales
exists to develop a viable world-class national botanic
garden dedicated to the research and conservation of
biodiversity and its sustainable utilisation, to
lifelong learning and to the enjoyment of the visitor. |
| Llanarthne,
Carmarthenshire, Wales |
|
|
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Newby Hall
& Gardens
- Newby Hall was
built between 1691-1695 and shortly afterwards the owner, Sir Edward
Blackett, commissioned Peter Aram as head gardener to lay out formal
gardens and avenues in keeping with the period. Very little of
Aram's layout for Newby remains today and the present design is
largely attributable to the present owner's grandfather, the late
Major Edward Compton, who inherited Newby in 1921. |
| Ripon, North
Yorkshire |
|
|
 |
Plantation Garden - A large Victorian
garden and architectural experience in Norwich city centre. The
Plantation Garden includes, a huge gothic fountain, flower
beds, lawns, woodland walkways, rustic bridge Italianate terrace,
‘Medieval’ terrace wall; and hundreds of architectural details
fashionable in the mid 19th century. . This idiosyncratic garden,
was established 140 years ago in a 3 acre abandoned chalk quarry and
is a haven of peace and tranquility, and a glimpse into a bygone age. |
| Norwich City
Centre |
|
|
|
Penshurst
Place & Gardens
- 11-acre formal walled garden, with records dating back
to 1346. One of the oldest gardens in private ownership,
it remains much as it was when constructed by Sir Henry
Sidney in the Elizabethan era. |
| Kent |
|
|
|
|
Renishaw
Hall has been the home of the
Sitwell family for over 350 years. In 1625 George Sitwell built a
small H-shaped manor house to which his descendent Sitwell Sitwell,
later first baronet, made vast additions in the Georgian period,
also the stables and various follies in and around the park. The
beautiful Italianate garden, park and lake were the creation of the
eccentric Sir George Sitwell, grandfather of the present owner. |
| Renishaw Hall
is on the eastern most foothill of the Pennines, overlooking the
Rother Valley and is about 7 miles from Sheffield and
Chesterfield three miles from exit 30 of the M1. |
|
|
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RHS
Garden Rosemoor
- Lady Anne's
Garden, as the original garden of Rosemoor is now known,
is a plantsman's garden and is of great horticultural
and botanical interest. |
| North Devon |
|
|
 |
Scampston
Hall and Walled Garden - The
4½ acre Walled Garden opens for the first time in 2004. It is fully
planted but still ‘in the making’ so you will have to use some
imagination to envisage the final form that will emerge as the
seasons go by. |
| Scampston Hall
is situated on the north side of the A64 Leeds/Scarborough road,
approximately 4 miles east of Malton. |
|
|
 |
Sissinghurst
Castle Garden
is one of the world's most famous 20th century
gardens. It is the creation of the writer and poet
Vita Sackville-West and her husband, diplomat and
writer, Harold Nicolson. |
| Nr
Cranbrook, Kent |
|
|
 |
Sudeley
Castle gardens
are remarkable for the extraordinary depth and wealth of
the sublime and beauty that lies within their bounds.
Set in the midst of the Cotswold Hills, the house and
gardens have grown for over 300 years around the
picturesque ruins of the old castle and walls of an old
Tithe barn. |
| Winchcombe, Gloucestershire |
|
|
 |
Trebah
- Spectacular 26 acre Cornish ravine garden, rated among the 80
finest gardens in the world. This sub-tropical paradise is home to a
unique collection of rare and exotic plants, trees and shrubs
winding down to a private and secluded beach on the Helford River. |
| Nr falmouth, Cornwall |
|
|
 |
Treborth
Botanic Garden
- The gardens were laid out by Sir Joseph Paxton, the
same man who designed the Crystal Palace in London.
The University of Wales bought the plot in the 1960s
and developed it into a world class botanical gardens,
featuring woodland, exotic plants and native
collections of tress, shrubs and flowers. |
| Bangor University,
Gwynedd, Wales |
|
|
|
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Trevarno
- A unique and unforgettable gardening experience for all ages. |
| Helston, Cornwall |
|
|
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Upton
House and Gardens - Upton House is
a late seventeenth century house remodelled by Walter
Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted, after his purchase of the
property in 1927. Gardens include terraced flower
borders, herbaceous borders, tranquil water gardens and
the National Collection of asters. |
| Warwickshire |
|
|
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Wakehurst Place
- In
the beautiful High Weald of Sussex, is an outstanding
botanic garden and conservation area, managed by the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. |
| West Sussex |
| |
|
 |
Walmer Castle and Gardens
- Originally
built during the reign of Henry VIII as part of a chain
of coastal artillery defences against Catholic attack
from Europe, Walmer Castle has evolved over time into an
elegant residence. The beautiful gardens surrounding the
house also include a commemorative lawn, woodland walk,
croquet lawn and a working kitchen garden. The remainder
of the grounds are mostly wildlife gardens, a great
place to spot birds. |
| Kent |
| |
|
 |
Waterperry
Gardens is a
magical place where you are surrounded by beautiful
trees, shrubs and flowers, classical borders, modern
planting, secret corners and long vistas. |
| Oxfordshire |
| |
|
 |
Weston
Park - You do not
have to be a gardener to enjoy the magnificent gardens
and grounds, as for children, there’s the small matter
of 1,000 acres of parkland in which to play; with a
choice of attractions including a miniature railway,
woodland adventure playground and giant games - to
mention a few. |
| Shropshire |
| |
|
 |
Winterbourne
Botanic Garden - A six acre
Edwardian Arts and Crafts style garden on the
university's Edgbaston Campus. The Grade II listed
garden is a haven of peace and tranquillity only 15
minutes from the city centre. They hold three
National Collections and have lots of
interesting features to see including colour themed
borders, a pergola, Japanese bridge and unusual
sandstone rock garden. |
| Birmingham |
| |
|
 |
RHS
Garden
- Wisley |
| The flagship
garden of the RHS, Wisley, captures the imagination with
richly planted borders, luscious rose gardens and of
course, the state-of-the-art new Glasshouse. Gifted to
the Society in 1903, only a small part of the original
estate was cultivated as a garden, the remainder being
wooded farmland. Over time, the face of Wisley has
changed, so it is now a world-class garden in its own
right, but a closer look reveals the real value of
Wisley. |
| |
|
|
See
also... |
|
|
 |
Finca La Concepcion.
Malaga, Spain. |
| A
short bus ride from the centre of the city of Malaga in
Spain's Southern region of Andalucia lies the
historical garden of 'La Concepción'. Originally
created in 1855. |
| |
|
|
