A bank holiday weekend is the perfect excuse to wander through a bountiful, breezy garden – and come home full of ideas.
Whether you’re drawn to meadow-style planting or classic herbaceous borders, these 13 gardens are brimming with inspiration for planting schemes you’ll want to try at home. Keep reading for the best ones to visit this spring and summer:
1. Great Dixter, East Sussex
The former home of gardener Christopher Lloyd, Great Dixter is known for its bold, experimental planting, and right now it really comes into its own. Look out for incredible pops of colour and mono-planting, where single colours or varieties are grouped together for impact.
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2. Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent
One of Britain’s most celebrated gardens, created by the writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West, Sissinghurst is made up of a series of intimate, enclosed “rooms”.
Right now, the White Garden is just beginning to fill out, with early roses coming through while the borders are starting to loosen and layer. Look out for ideas on how to work with a limited palette and still create something that feels full and interesting.
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3. Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire
Set in a valley on the edge of Harrogate, Harlow Carr is especially beautiful right now, from the woodland areas (perfect inspiration for what to grow in shadier spots) to the riot of rhododendrons. If you have a small garden, check out the dwarf varieties in the Bath House Terraces – ideal for even the most modest patch.
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4. The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall
Nigel Hicks
A restored historic garden with everything from formal planting to a subtropical ‘jungle’, Heligan is at its most atmospheric now, with the Jungle looking big, leafy and slightly wild. Great for ideas on how to mix scale and texture – and not be afraid of bigger, bolder planting.
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5. Chatsworth House Garden, Derbyshire
A grand estate garden that mixes formal planting with a large, productive kitchen garden, Chatsworth is full of life now, with the borders filling out and the kitchen garden in full swing – perfect inspiration if you want your garden to do more than just look good.
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6. Biddulph Grange Garden, Staffordshire
A Victorian garden made up of themed “rooms”, each with a different style and influence, from the Chinese Garden to the Stumpery – an atmospheric sunken path bordered by upturned oak roots. The place to go if you’re looking to create a quirky, playful space.
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7. Beth Chatto Gardens, Essex
Mieneke Andeweg-van Rijn
Created by plantswoman Beth Chatto, this garden is built around working with conditions rather than against them – from dry-soil-loving echinacea to dappled shade-loving aquilegia. If you’re after drought-tolerant planting or want to gen up on choosing plants that suit your soil, these are the gardens for you.
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8. Tatton Park Gardens, Cheshire
From formal gardens to a working kitchen plot, Tatton Park’s 50 acres offer inspiration for every kind of space. Shaped over 300 years, it blends historic glasshouses, a Japanese garden and seasonal planting with plenty of ideas to take home, whatever your garden.
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9. Sheffield Botanical Gardens, South Yorkshire
Photos by R A Kearton
A well-loved city garden with formal beds and restored Victorian glasshouses, Sheffield Botanical Gardens is bright and full of seasonal colour now. With a focus on making the most of limited space, you’ll find plenty of ideas that translate well to smaller gardens.
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10. Osborne House Gardens, Isle of Wight
Queen Victoria’s former seaside home, with terraces overlooking the Solent, offers everything from formal terraces to a restored walled garden and wooded trails. The planting reflects the sunny, exposed conditions – ideal for ideas on gardening in sun, wind and coastal settings.
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11. Trebah Garden, Cornwall
Clive Nichols
A sheltered valley garden leading down to the coast, Trebah is known for its subtropical planting, and right now the big foliage and dense planting give it a lush, almost tropical feel. Look out for how shelter and scale can transform what you can grow.
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12. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
A major botanical garden with extensive plant collections and varied landscapes, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh offers plenty to see at this time of year, including spring colour in the Rock Garden and Alpine Houses. A great source of inspiration for cooler climates.
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13. Horniman Museum Gardens, London
A relaxed south London garden with planting, lawns and wide views across the city, the Horniman feels easy and informal at this time of year, with wildflower areas and unfussy planting. The place to go if you want to keep things simple and let planting feel a bit more natural.
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Gardening must-haves
Filberts of Dorset Gardeners Hand Salve
Haywards Garden Bee and Butterfly Water Stations, Garden Décor, set of three colourful bee water cups .
Now 17% Off
Home Sussex Handmade Peg Apron
Painted Garden Label/Marker
The Fae Potter Wild Bird Feeder ceramic hanging
WhinnyPoo WhinnyPoo Box of 3 Plant Feed
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