Gardens to visit
Make it your new year resolution to explore the UK’s best gardens
1LUKESLAND GARDENS
24 acres of breath-taking landscaped gardens, with brilliant spring and autumn colour and a notable collection of specimen trees and shrubs. Set in a picturesque valley by a Dartmoor stream. Family-run tea-room serving soup and cakes. Dogs welcome on a lead. Open 31 March-16 June and 6 Oct-17 Nov. Harford, Ivybridge, Devon PL21 0JF | 01752 691749 | lukesland.co.uk
2GLAMIS CASTLE
Enjoy a day in the glorious gardens at Glamis Castle. With over 400 years of history the grounds and gardens have been developed and enhanced by generations of the Strathmore family. Stroll through in any season, our fine avenues, rose and Italian gardens, a pinetum and a newly renovated working walled garden. Angus, Scotland DD8 1RJ | 01307 840393 | enquiries@glamis-castle.co.uk
3GREAT COMP GARDEN
Great Comp Garden is an exceptionally beautiful seven-acre garden surrounding an early 17th-century manor. Romantic ruins combine with luxuriant planting, and in spring the garden erupts into bloom with magnolias, azaleas and rhododendrons. Spring Fling plant fair, Sunday 14 April. Platt, nr Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 8QS | 01732 885094 | greatcompgarden.co.uk
4SCULPTURE BY THE LAKES
Set in 26 acres of Dorset’s finest countryside, the sculpture park features gardens bursting with colour, pristine lakes and a meandering river alongside thousands of different types of trees and shrubs, as well as herbaceous plants, bulbs and grasses all interspersed with Simon Gudgeon’s magnificent sculptures. Dorchester, Dorset DT2 8QU | 07720 637808 | sculpturebythelakes.co.uk
5WAKEHURST
Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, has more than 500 acres of ornamental gardens, woodlands and a nature reserve. Beautiful whatever the season, winter is abundant in colour thanks to the newly transformed Winter Garden. See shimmering bark, vivid stems and soft foliage in this reimagined space. 01444 894066 | kew.org/wakehurst
6THE SWISS GARDEN
The Swiss Garden at Shuttleworth was created by Lord Ongley in the 1820s with 13 structures and intriguing vistas in nine-acre grounds. Embellished with Victorian features during the 1870s, it nestles adjacent to The Shuttleworth Collection. Open all year round except Christmas. Old Warden Aerodrome, Beds SG18 9EP | shuttleworth.org/swissgarden
7A GARDEN WITH A ROYAL COLLECTION
The Savill Garden is a hidden gem in the heart of Windsor Great Park. Connect with decades of royal history and admire the abundant variety of rare flowers and plants. Since its creation in the 1930s, the garden has been an inspiration for all and a vision of gardening excellence. Visit all year round. Englefield Green, Surrey TW20 OUJ | windsorgreatpark.co.uk/savillgarden
8HERGEST CROFT GARDENS
Four generations over 120 years. Spectacular colour through spring to autumn covering 70 acres with over 5,000 rare trees, with 90 ‘Champion’ trees. Try our delightful tearooms with home-made teas. Ridgebourne Road, Kington HR5 3EG | 01544 230160 | hergest.co.uk 9CHIPPENHAM PARK
With a breath-taking display of snowdrops and aconites in February followed by a succession of hellebores, scillas, cyclamen, deliciously scented daphnes and viburnums and a crescendo of daffodils and other narcissi, the gardens are at their very best in early spring. Open 10am-4pm, 9 Feb–31 March and 15–19 April. Ely, Cambs CB7 5PT | 01638 721416 | chippenhamparkgardens.co.uk
10BUSCOT PARK
The gardens and grounds at Buscot Park were designed in the late 18th century to complement the Georgian house. They were enhanced in the 20th century by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Lords Faringdon and include the spectacular water garden designed by Harold Peto and the Four Seasons Walled Garden. Faringdon, Oxfordshire SN7 8BU | 01367 240932 | buscotpark.com
11 WEST GREEN HOUSE
Forty miles from London, surrounded by woodland, is the 1720s Manor House of West Green, its façade decorated by the busts of gods and emperors. Surrounded by walled gardens, it is renowned for its inspirational potager, dramatic Nymphaeum and collection of follies, topiaries and fountains. Thackham’s Ln, Hook RG27 8JB | 01252 844611 | westgreenhouse.co.uk