Forde Abbey, four miles south east of Chard, offers a fascinating history, a stately home full of rare treasures and, above all, one of the oldest and finest gardens in the south west of England. The abbey is particularly famed for its massive walled kitchen garden, full of colourful flowers, interesting vegetables and tender fruits…
East Lambrook was the home of Margery Fish, the mother of English cottage gardening. Margery Fish’s articles and books are so popular that they are rarely out of print. Her ideas shaped gardening to the economic realities of post-war Britain, opening the joys of plants and simple design from a preserve of the rich to…
Kiftsgate Court sits on top of Glyde Hill in the Wiltshire Cotswolds. The house was finished at the end of the nineteenth century and the garden is the twentieth century product of three generations of women and their families: Helen Muir, her daughter Diana Binny and her daughter, the current owner, Anne Chambers. The garden…
Bishop’s Palace was built in 1206 by Bishop Jocelin Trotman, first Bishop of Bath and Wells. Bishops still live in the Palace’s old servant quarters and have opened most of the palace and grounds are open to visitors. For 800 years the Bishops have used these gardens to relax and contemplate, often to indulging their…
The garden’s of Mapperton house in Dorset are one of the regions most unique and romantic gardens. Mapperton began as a formal Edwardian Italianate garden where nature has been allowed to encroach and soften its sharp edges. Like a creation from a fairy tale it unfolds down the valley, seamlessly becoming one with the rolling…
Starting as a family business over 40 years ago (in 1961), Bridgemere is now one of the most widely recognised garden centres in Europe. Its unprecedented size has also earned it the title “Biggest Garden Centre” in the Guinness Book of Records. Covering more than 25 acres, the site attracts around 1.8 million visitors per…
Parks and gardens are perhaps not the first thing one would choose to associate with Birkenhead. Instead, this town near the Mersey Estuary would more commonly be associated with the heavy industry of the industrial revolution and beyond. This said, Birkenhead is home to one of the most pioneering examples of park design of its…
Dating from 1906 to 1912, this beautiful Edwardian garden is set in the grounds of the spectacular red sandstone house (not open to the public). Both the house and gardens are Grade II* listed. Although open on just a few occasions during the year, the gardens are well worth a visit. Divided into two main…
Loseley Park lies to the south of Guildford, close to the A3 with its direct links to the M25 and London and offers the visitor a peaceful and fascinating day out as well as being a highly regarded venue for corporate hospitality and shows. Loseley has been in the same family for over 400 years.…
Winkworth Arboretum is situated to the south of Godalming in the southwest corner of Surrey. Originally developed as a plant collection by Dr. Wilfred Fox who gave the 25ha site to the National Trust in 1952, the property has since been enlarged to its present 45ha. The arboretum lies on rolling hillside and a valley…