The Royal Horticultural Society has declared this Britain’s National Gardening Week from Monday 29 April - Sunday 5 May. Why? It's the best time to get into your garden. Hibernating insects have woken up and got on with their lives, the soil is warm and well watered after the winter, and plants are springing up all around. The days are long and the sun (when its here) is warm so just being outside is a real pleasure. All great gardeners learn their craft by watching what other people do, so now is also the true start of the garden visiting season. I know we’ve been on snowdrop walks and ventured out on Easter egg trails but May is the season of bluebell woods, tulips and rhododendrons. It is the time when colour really gets going in the garden.
Where to go this year? One of the great things about these temperate islands is that it doesn’t really matter where you live, there is a truly great garden somewhere near you. There’s a garden for every season and a garden of every era. We’ve been gardening for centuries here so there are medieval gardens and Tudor gardens, 17th century water gardens, 18th century landscapes, Victorian parterres, Arts & Crafts garden rooms and contemporary gardens of grasses or visitor entertainment.
I’m picking six favourite gardens for this week to visit over the year. It’s an entirely arbitrary six; ask me tomorrow and I’ll pick a different group, but it is at least a range. Of course, I notice that I’ve failed to include a single garden in Wales or Northern Ireland or East Anglia where some of my favourites are located. Perhaps most surprising of all is that there is not a single Scottish garden on this list, even though gardens are one of the glories of Scotland, particularly the gardens on the South West coast of Scotland where the Gulf stream brings mild winds that allow exotics to thrive.
But I refuse to start again. I’ll write a Scottish list later in the year. Meanwhile, enjoy these if you can or put them on your list to plan a visit for the future. You can visit any of these anytime (though of course check when they are open) for all round interest but where they are best in one month or another, I’ve told you so. I’ve also picked out what it is I most love just in case you share my enthusiasm.
6 BRITISH GARDENS TO VISIT
1. Caerhays Gardens, Cornwall – rhododendrons & magnolias on a grand scale - May
2. Painshill Gardens, Surrey – exquisitely designed landscape with eyecatchers – anytime
3. Newby Hall, Yorkshire– the grandest herbaceous border – June/July
4. Levens Hall, Cumbria – rare 17th century topiary – anytime
5. The Peto Garden at Iford Manor, Wiltshire – magical Italianate terraces - June/July
6. The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland – a real 21st century visitors garden - anytime