This is not a garden; but a visitor attraction, not that there is anything fundamentally wrong with visitor attractions per se. A garden though is created as a personal folly in purely personal search for pleasure through the manipulation of…

The gardens at Biddulph Grange were the creation of James Bateman (1811- 1897), though what you see today is the product of one of  the greatest garden restoration programmes undertaken. James Bateman moved into the property in 1840, two years…

Situated just 6 miles North West of Doncaster this is a garden you will find or hear little about which is a great shame as it is an excellent example of a garden of a wealthy English gentlemen in the…

Cheverny is a 17th century chateau approximately 16 km south east of Blois in the Loire Valley but any sign of the geometric gardens of that period have sadly gone. The chateau itself is approached across a large expanse of…

One of the most famous gardens in England due to having to of its most impressive water features the Cascade and the Emperor Fountain. There is much more to the gardens than these and you could easily spend a full…

Baron William Armstrong and his wife Margaret purchased the land at Cragside in 1863 and spent the reminder of their lives, until his death in 1900, developing the gardens. William Armstrong seems to have chosen the location as a result…

This was the home of the painter Claude Monet for the last 43 years of his 89 year live and features in many of the most important paintings of the impressionist movement. Though now preserved due to its importance it…

This was the home of one of the last centuries greatest garden thinks and writers, centred on a property remodelled and extended by Edward Luytens for his parents this was the lifelong home of Christopher Lloyd. Though initially he inherited…

Over its 500 year history this was a royal palace for over 200 years from the Tudor through the Stuart and into the Hanover period. Each successive period saw the house and gardens develop with the combination of great wealth…

Lawrence Johnson spent 41 years creating what is the most famous garden of the Arts and Crafts movement and one of the most inspirational gardens of all time. Much is made of the way the garden is divided into rooms,…

This garden started out as a small garden around the home of the late Sir Harold Hillier, of Hillier Nurseries. Here he set out to create as large a collection of woody plants that could be grown outdoors in southern…

In 1862 the Mackenzie family purchased the 2000 acre Inverewe estate on the North West coast of Scotland and the 20 year old Osgood Mackenzie started to make himself a garden. He chose his site well; though 57° 46’ north,…

Formally called the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew the gardens are said to have begun in 1759 when Princess Augusta started constructing a 9 acre garden around Kew Palace, though there may well have been some garden around the palace before…

Built in the 1620’s, the hall it is typically Tudor in appearance, and occupied up to middle of the 20th century by which time the house and gardens were derelict. The gardens themselves did not appear to be developed until…

Le Château de Chambord looks like the archetypal grand French château, built in the 16th century and believed to have had some of its features designed by Leonardo da Vinci. If Disney was to build a château this is what…

The château and garden are situated on a rock outcrop which forms the west bank of the river Vézère and the château and stables are protected on the remaining three sides by a deep dry moat as fits its original…

Le Château du Clos Luce greatest claim to fame is as the final home of Leonardo da Vinci and the garden is set out as a celebration of his work. It does though have two redeeming features; one is the…

This takes a little find and is a world away from the highly commercialised gardens usually open to the public. It is situated on the north east shore of Loch Broom 3 miles down the A893 south of Ullapool. The…

In truth this is more a resource than a garden but a very attractive one all the same. It is though a celebration of water lilies and lotuses which cover about 3 hectares. Started in only 1999 and opened to…

The most remarkable thing about this garden is how young it is. I have often been faced with the modern demand for instant gardens resulting in the only hedges being of the much over used leyandii conifers and the problems…

Perched on a rock outcrop high above the fertile flood plain of the Dordogne river and surrounded by the rivers meander on three sides the garden enjoys dramatic views across the country side. There has been a château and garden…

This is a rather unusual garden; under 600 m² in area, about 160 m due north of the castle and a considerable walk from the castle entrance on the south side of the building. It’s not a garden you nip…

Part of the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (RBGE); Logan Botanic Garden sits at one of the most south-westerly points of Scotland, only 40 miles from the centre of Belfast as the crow flies. Bathed by the gulf stream to the…

Lyme Park was originally an area of the peak district moorland gifted to the Legh family in 1398 by Richard II in recognition of his service and it remained in the family for over five centuries. It was not until…

Ludwig Messel’s Sussex garden was and still is more about plants than design. When Ludwig purchased the estate in 1890 the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway had built up a large network of railway lines covering the Sussex making…

This is a private garden open to the public and one of the best modern gardens in the south west of England. It is far more of a garden than the nearby Eden Project or Lost Garden of Heligan and…

This is very much a garden of two distinct halves; separated by over 200 years and the work of designers that, though different in style, reflect their time. The first was Charles Bridgeman followed shortly afterwards by Lancelot (Capability) Brown…