The blooming best of BRITAIN
MANY of the nation’s gardens are at their peak in summer. Whether you need inspiration for a border or simply want to enjoy a good day out, there are plenty of places to visit. Here’s my guide to ten of the very best around Britain.
TREBAH, MAWNAN SMITH, CORNWALL
SET within a deep valley that runs down to a beach on the Helford River, Trebah is a 25-acre, sub-tropical paradise started by businessman Charles Fox in 1838. The garden descends dramatically, following the path of a stream under tree ferns, bamboos and 50ft-tall Chusan palms. Colour is provided by Mediterranean geraniums, agapanthus and echium pininana, a biennial from the Canary Islands with 12ft spires of blue flowers. Children will love the shady passageway that leads underneath a grove of giant Brazil rhubarb (gunnera manicata), whose 8ft-tall stalks hold 10ft-wide leaves.
Open daily 10am to 6pm, trebahgarden.co.uk.
MOTTISFONT ABBEY GARDEN, HAMPSHIRE
MORE than 700 different roses attract big crowds to this garden during June and July. Displayed within the stout walls of the former kitchen garden, there are old-fashioned shrub roses around a pond, climbing roses on the walls and arches dripping with ramblers. The breathtaking sight is complemented by borders filled with herbaceous perennials. Dating from 1972, the rose garden was the brainchild of Graham Stuart Thomas, a famous rosarian and adviser to the National Trust from 1955 to 1972.
Open daily 10am to 5pm, nationaltrust.org.uk/mottisfont.
HIDCOTE MANOR, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
STARTED by Major Lawrence Johnson in 1907, this is one of the best known gardens in the world. Each year more than 160,000 tourists visit the ten-acre plot, famous for its outdoor rooms filled with colourful perennials, bulbs and flowering shrubs. Perhaps the most iconic area is the White Garden, with neatly clipped box topiary providing structure among tapestry of perennials.
Open daily 10am to 7pm, nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote.
NEWBY HALL, NORTH YORKSHIRE
A LATE 17th Century house designed by Sir Christopher Wren forms the backdrop for one of the longest herbaceous borders in the country. Structurally laid out in the 1930s, it is 450ft long and sweeps down to the banks of the River Ure – regular visitors will spot that the planting scheme has changed in its first major overhaul in 30 years.
Open daily 11am to 5.30pm, newbyhallandgardens.com.
EAST RUSTON OLD VICARAGE, NORFOLK
THIS is one of the most unique gardens in Britain – a 32-acre landscape on the Norfolk coast that’s been divided into about 20 interlinking spaces including woodland, a New Zealand garden, perennial borders, a wildflower meadow and exotic and Mediterranean gardens.
Despite possessing an air of maturity, the garden that surrounds Alan Gray and Graham Robeson’s Arts and Crafts house was started by the creative couple only in 1989. Don’t miss the arid landscape inspired by the Arizona desert; it has been planted with cactus, agave, yucca, orange Californian poppies and other drought-tolerant species.
Open daily (except Mon/Tue) 1pm to 5.30pm, e-rustonoldvicaragegardens.co.uk.
CHATSWORTH, DERBYSHIRE
SEAT of the Dukes of Devonshire since 1549, Chatsworth House is at the heart of a 105-acre garden in the Derbyshire Dales. There are colourthemed borders, a rose garden in the shadow of the magnificent stately pile and an informal cottage garden. The garden is famed for its water features; there’s a metal willow tree fountain, lots of ponds and the emperor fountain, which fires a 290ft plume into the air. The best is the cascade, a 624ft series of steps carrying water down a steep hill, dating from 1698.
Open daily 11am to 6pm, chatsworth.org.
ARLEY HALL, CHESHIRE
THE double borders at Arley Hall date from 1846 and are said to be the oldest in England. Designed to provide interest from June to September, they are crammed with countless perennials and are divided into five sections by carefully placed yew buttresses. There’s plenty more to admire in the 12-acre garden, including a rose garden, a walled garden planted with shrubs and flowers, and an avenue of 33ft-high holm oaks clipped into cylinder shapes.
Open daily 11am to 5pm, arleyhallandgardens.com.
CAMBO GARDENS, FIFE
CAMBO in Fife is justly famed for its snowdrop displays, but the planting within its two-and-a-half-acre walled garden is equally striking in summer. Inspired by the naturalistic schemes of Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, beds contain a vibrant mixture of flowering perennials and ornamental grasses, such as miscanthus, stipa and Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ – the seed heads continue to add interest until late winter, when everything is cut to ground level. Owned by Peter and Catherine Erskine, the grounds surrounding the 19th Century house also boast a 70-acre woodland garden with sea views.
Open daily 10am to 5pm, camboestate.com.
POWIS CASTLE, POWYS, WALES
THE sweeping views over the Severn Valley from Powis Castle are breathtaking. Yet it’s the border planted with tender exotics on the southfacing terrace beneath the walls of the medieval fortress that lives longer in the memory. Contained by low box hedging, the border is packed with plants with huge leaves, such as bananas, catalpa and paulownias, while pineapple lilies, dahlias and fuchsias add a shot of colour. Three further terraces are linked by steps. At the very bottom, a more traditional border comes into its own in late summer.
Open daily 10am to 6pm, nationaltrust.org.uk/ powis-castle.
MOUNT STEWART, COUNTY DOWN, NORTHERN IRELAND
BUILT on the shores of Strangford Lough, the gardens at Mount Stewart were laid out mainly by Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry, in the 1920s. She added a Spanish garden, a sunken garden based on a Gertrude Jekyll plan and her most famous creation… the Italian garden in the shadow of the magnificent house. Divided by a lawn, it consists of two parterres, the beds planted with roses, perennials and shrubs that peak in July. Allow plenty of time to visit, as there’s much more to see in this 97-acre landscape.
Open daily 10am to 5pm, nationaltrust.org.uk/mount-stewart.