The darling buds of May Day
Our top gardens are exploding into life again as ravishing rhododendrons put on a must-see display
FORGET early and mid-spring – May is when gardens really explode into life with a colourful fanfare, making it the perfect time to visit a swanky public site. From rhododendron retreats to tulip hotspots, here’s my guide to ten of the best plots in Britain to see this Bank Holiday weekend.
TREWITHEN, CORNWALL
An imposing 18th Century house nestles at the heart of this 25-acre woodland garden close to Truro. You’ll find a spectacular collection of rhododendrons under taller trees, while others brighten up the perimeter of a long, serpentine lawn. Elsewhere, there are tree fern dells and a walled garden with a pergola dripping with wisteria flowers. Pick up a map as it’s easy to get lost exploring its twisting paths. trewithengardens.co.uk
EXBURY GARDENS, HAMPSHIRE
Established by banker Lionel de Rothschild in 1919, the 200-acre woodland garden on the banks of the River Beaulieu is crammed with 13,000 rhododendrons made up of 3,000 different varieties. Containing 20 miles of pathway, the vast landscape boasts water gardens, rock gardens and a walled garden with a venerable wisteria. Don’t miss the dramatic Azalea Bowl, a pond surrounded by a bank of evergreen azaleas with flowers in many strident shades. exbury.co.uk
FAIRHAVEN WOODLAND AND WATER GARDEN, NORFOLK
Thousands of candelabra primroses in myriad shades brighten up the sides of the pathways that wind their way through this 170-acre garden. Started in 1946 by Major Henry Broughton, 2nd Lord Fairhaven, the wooded space boasts plenty of rhododendrons and azaleas, and is criss-crossed with streams that are home to water irises and other aquatics. fairhavengarden.co.uk uk
HIDCOTE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Enjoying sweeping views over the Vale of Evesham, this iconic garden was started by Major Lawrence Johnston in 1907. Over the next 40 years, he divided the 11-acre site into about 30 different ‘rooms’. In late spring, the box beds in the white garden feature tulips and Lamium ‘ White Nancy’, while herbaceous peonies turn heads in the Pillar Garden. Candelabra primulas, brunneras, rhododendrons and azaleas rub shoulders in the Stream Garden. nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote
LEA GARDENS, DERBYSHIRE
This gem near Matlock owes its existence to knitwear magnate John Marsden- Smedley. From 1935 until his death 24 years later, he embellished the plot around his farmhouse with rhododendrons. Set over three- and- a- half acres, the garden has been in the hands of the Tye family since 1960 and contains 500 different rhododendrons and azaleas, along with spring-flowering kalmias. leagarden.co.uk
HELMSLEY WALLED GARDEN, NORTH YORKSHIRE
One of the locations for last year’s adaptation of The Secret Garden, starring Julie Walters and Colin Firth, this charming walled garden dates from 1758 and was originally used to produce vegetables for the Feversham family at nearby Duncombe Park. Sitting beneath the ruins of a medieval castle, the fiveacre space in the North York Moors National Park features displays of tulips, spring perennials and a laburnum arch underplanted with purple alliums. helmsleywalledgarden.org.uk
BODNANT GARDEN, CONWY
Owned by the McLaren family since 1895, the 80- acre garden was developed largely in the early 20th Century by Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway. The garden is rightly noted for its Laburnum Arch, a 180ft- long curved tunnel built in 1880 that drips with golden-yellow flowers in late May. Paths lead down a steeply sloping site peppered with streams, ponds and waterfalls to the River Hiraethlyn and a gorge planted with masses of rhododendrons. nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden
ARDUAINE GARDEN, ARGYLL
Started in 1897 by James Arthur Campbell, this sprawling coastal garden covers 20 acres. A network of paths leads through woodland dotted with choice rhododendrons, including scented ones such as Rhododendron ‘Sesterianum’ with its huge white flower heads, while open areas are enli vened by ponds encircled with candelabra primulas, Himalayan poppies and Chatham Island forget- me- nots. In places there are fantastic views over Asknish Bay, the Sound of Jura and Loch Melfort. nts.org.uk/ visit/places/arduaine-garden
ARDVORLICH, PERTHSHIRE
A stone’s-throw from Loch Earn on the fringes of The Trossachs, this
private garden is open for Scotland’s Gardens Scheme from late April until May 30. Owned by the Stewart family since the 16th Century, the seven-acre plot has been developed around a baronial-style house that was fictionalised as Darnlinvarach Castle in Sir Walter Scott’s novel A Legend Of Montrose. Clinging to the side of a plunging gorge, the garden is home to more than 170 species of rhododendron. scotlandsgardens.org/ardvorlich/
ROWALLANE GARDEN, CO DOWN
Begun by the Reverend John Moore in t he l ate 19th Century, t his 51-acre garden is due largely to the work of his nephew, Hugh Armytage Moore, during the early 20th Century. There’s a naturalistic rock garden, walled garden and grounds planted with Himalayan blue poppies, primulas and 1,500 rhododendrons, some of which are more than a century old. national trust.org.uk/rowallane-garden To ensure the safety of visitors in line with the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown, most gardens have reduced the number of people who can enter at any one time and an online booking system is in operation. Check the website before travelling.