Five Heritage Gardens to Soothe Your Flower Show Blues

Five Heritage Gardens to Soothe Your Flower Show Blues

Last week, the Royal Hospital Gardens in Chelsea came in bloom for the annual RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the world’s most prestigious gardening event, which showcases the best-in-class of horticultural delights designed to inspire and educate its visitors. Whilst the flower show might be over now for another year, those mourning its end need not despair, because these HeritageX houses are home to some of Britain’s most beautiful gardens, open all summer long for green-fingered enthusiasts to get their next horticultural fix!

 

1. Doddington Hall & Gardens  

 

For many, the gardens at this Elizabethan manor house in Lincolnshire are just as remarkable as the hall itself. Remaining true to its original layout, the formal East and West Gardens are surrounded by a traditional brick wall, and beyond that, lie five acres of lovingly restored wild gardens. The West Garden, which was re-organised in 1900 with help from experts at Kew, is particularly famous for its incredible collection of Irises which come into spectacular bloom during May and June, during which period the garden is open daily to make the most of their short flowering time. The wild gardens are also known for their pageant of spring bulbs as well as striking landscaping features such as the famous Doddington Pyramid, a 21st century folly designed by the hall’s previous owner Anthony Jarvis and built by his daughter Claire and her husband James Birch in 2014.  

 

Book to visit the gardens here    

 

2. Newby Hall 

 

Whilst Newby might be one of the finest Adam’s houses in the country, for a long time, the gardens of this impressive 17th century manor did not live up to its architectural prestige. However, this all changed in the 1920s when the house came into the hands of Major Edward Compton, a fanatical gardener who described Newby as a “lovely picture without a garden to frame it,” and decided to put that right. Now, thanks to both Compton’s endeavours and the endeavours of the generations that came after him, Newby is far from lacking in the horticultural department, and is home to 25 acres of spectacular, award-winning gardens. Highlights include the sublime 172m double herbaceous border that slopes from the house down to the River Ure, Sylvia’s Garden, a formal compartmentalised garden with a tranquil colour palette named after the Major’s wife Sylvia Farquharson, and of course the incredible National Cornus collection, which is home to a splendid array of over 100 individual Cornus specimens.  

 

Book to visit the gardens here. 

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3. Sudeley Castle 

 

Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire is perhaps most famous for being the home and burial ground of Henry VIII’s only surviving wife Katherine Parr, but those who make the trip to visit the Queen’s final resting place, should not skip the ten magnificent, award-winning gardens on site. Some of the highlights include the Queen’s Garden, named after four great queens: Katherine Parr, Elizabeth I, Jane Grey and Anne Boleyn, which boasts over 80 varieties of roses, the Knot Garden which comprises 1,200 box hedges in a geometric design and the wonderfully romantic Secret Garden re-planted by the castle’s current chatelaine Lady Ashcombe to celebrate her marriage to Lord Ashcombe, which in the spring is awash with a sea of over 2,500 tulips. 

 

Book to visit the gardens here.

Five Heritage Gardens to Soothe Your Flower Show Blues

4. Lamport Hall 

 

The gardens at Northamptonshire’s Tudor manor have undergone many changes over the years, but perhaps became most famous under the tenure of Sir Charles Isham, who, in 1847 began work on Lamport’s celebrated rockery. The 24-foot high, 90-foot long and 47-foot wide rockery is built right up against the house so that Sir Charles could see it from his bedroom window and was made to look like a miniature world, with tiny crevices, caves and planted dwarf trees. The rockery was also home to the world’s first ever garden gnomes, a passion of Charles’, but which were sadly removed and destroyed by his ancestors over the years. However, one surviving gnome remains and can be viewed by visitors to the hall. Other standout features of the gardens include herbaceous borders full of a vibrant array of flowers and a walled garden planted with a diverse selection of tall perennial plants from Piet Oudolf’s nursery in the Netherlands. 

 

Book to visit the gardens here

 

5. Belvoir Castle 

 

The gardens at this splendid Norman Castle in the heart of Leicestershire have so much to offer in terms of both beauty and variety. Visitors can take a stroll through the elegant formal gardens designed by famous Edwardian landscape architect Harold Peto, wander through the Japanese Woodland, or enjoy the peaceful seclusion of The Duchess Garden, the perfect example of a picturesque Regency Garden which was initially cultivated by Elizabeth, the 5th Duchess of Rutland, who sought a retreat from the massive renovations happening in the castle at the time. The current Duchess of Rutland Emma Manners has also just completed a huge restoration programme, using plans originally drawn up for the castle by Capability Brown in 1780. Aided by her dedicated team of employees and volunteers, Emma has finally succeeded in bringing those plans to life, and visitors can enjoy the stunning landscapes and vistas of Brown’s original vision on a series of walks through the gardens and grounds. 

 

Book to visit the gardens here.

phoebe_grant

Phoebe Grant

May 30, 2024, 9:17 a.m.

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