Dig these gorgeous gardens
AS NATIONAL Gardening Week kicks off tomorrow, KATIE ROWE suggests places where you can immerse yourself in flowers and greenery…
Hidcote Manor Garden
Tucked away on the edge of the Cotswolds, Hidcote Manor Garden is divided into ‘rooms’ surrounding a manor house.
It was built by American horticulturist Major Lawrence Johnston, with the help of 12 full-time gardeners.
When you see the glistening fountains, brightly-coloured flowerbeds, elaborate hedgerows and secret gardens he created, you’ll see why he needed the extra pairs of hands. Pick whichever little ‘compartment’ of the garden matches your mood on the day and escape the modern world.
Sissinghurst Castle, Kent
Nestled around the ruins of an Elizabethan manor house, Sissinghurst Castle is known to green-fingered enthusiasts the world over as the epitome of an English country garden. The gardens were created in the 1930s by diplomat Sir Harold Nicolson and his wife, writer and poet Vita Sackville-West.
You only need to wander through the cool beauty of the White Garden to fall in love with the poetic beauty of this place. Surrounding it all are acres of gently undulating countryside and woodland, best viewed from the top of the 16th Century tower. Home to 19th Century inventor Lord Armstrong, Cragside is a Victorian house and garden like no other. It was the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity and includes hundreds of Armstrong’s gadgets, many of which continue to clink and clatter to this day.
Head outside to the gardens and you’ll find another man-made spectacle, in the form of luscious landscaped gardens. From May onwards, Cragside bursts with colour as rhododendrons show off their velvety pink, purple, white and red hues.
Weave your way through the paths and tunnels that cut through the rhododendron forest and then explore some of the largest rock gardens in Europe, before crossing Cragside’s ancient Iron Bridge.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan
On paper, The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Pentewan, Cornwall, sound like a scene out of a fairy tale but I can assure you they’re real. Once an aristocratic estate, the grounds were abandoned after the Second World War and fell into a state of decay. But after one of the largest garden restoration programmes in Europe, there are now more than 200 acres of land to explore, including a mini-jungle with banana plantations and towering bamboo.
Need somewhere to stay? Pentewan Sands Holiday Park is situated on its own private beach. If it’s too chilly for a dip, there are two indoor swimming pools on the site.
For more great ideas for garden days out, go to visitengland.com.