Castle Ward (NT) Strangford, Downpatrick, Co. Down.

Photo © 2007 NTPL / Matthew Antrobus

Formal and landscape gardens with specimen shrubs and trees. Woodland, lakeside and parkland walks with stunning viewpoints. Visit the horses, pigs and hens in the farmyard.

Mussenden Temple & Downhill Demesne (NT) Mussenden Road, Castlerock, Co. Londonderry.

Photo © 2007 NTPL / Joe Cornish

Dramatic setting on a wild coastal headland. A landscaped estate, laid out in the late 18th century. Includes family memorials, garden, fish pond, woodland and cliff walks, as well as panoramic views of Ireland's north coast.

Mount Stewart House and Garden (NT) Portaferry Road, Newtownards, Co. Down.

Photo © 2007 NTPL / Stephen Robson

The garden surround the 18th century house and was largely created by Edith Lady Londonderry, wife of the 7th Marquess of Londonderry, with an unrivaled collection of plants, colourful parterres and magnificent vistas. Dramatic views across Strangford Lough from the 'Temple of the Winds'. National Collection of Dianella, Libertia and Phormium.

A personal appraisal by Gill:

"I looked at the formal garden around the house, but it's evident that the woodlands are also pretty special. It's in a great location on Strangford Lough, and is sub-tropical - I noticed a lot of eucalypts in the woods, and there are a lot of tender plants in the gardens, of really impressive size - Paris daisy, yuccas etc. The topiary (which I love anyway) if predominantly in bay around the house, but with yew in the Red Hand garden and the latter includes some modern, not yet complete topiary, echoing the themes of animals in the main garden. There is a tremendous, sunken formal garden to the side of the house with pergola walks, topiary, a great range of climbers and with 8 massive tree heathers at its stairs: I loved this and was amazed at the size of the heathers which were the biggest I've ever seen. To the rear of the house, which - though grand - is not on a huge scale, is a really pretty formal garden with open rooms off, all beautifully designed and with different themes: italian, spanish, peace, for a daughter etc. The planting was good, and I want to go back again. The garden statuary is also impressive and very unusual. I had read about the Noah's Ark and was afraid it would be twee (it isn't, charming instead) and the classical columns and heads - echoed with arched topiary in the spanish garden - are lovely. Whoever gardens there now is also to be congratulated, because it's beautifully kept and shows signs of continuing work and design: so often this isn't true of NT/NTS gardens. I'm told it's the least visited NT property, but I certainly intend to go back."

Palm House Botanic Gardens Belfast City.

Photo © 2007 Northern Ireland Tourist Board

The Palm House is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear and cast iron glasshouse. Its constuction was initiated by the Belfast Botanical and Horticultural Society in the 1830s. The two wings were completed in 1840, and were built by Richard Turner of Dublin, who later built the Great Palm House at Kew Gardens. Over the years, the Palm House has acquired a reputation for good plant collections. The cool wing houses all year round displays of colour and scent using plants such as geranium, fuschia, begonia and bulb displays. The stove wing and dome area contain a range of temperate and tropical plants with particular emphasis on species of economic value.

Rowallane (NT) Saintfield, Ballynahinch, Co. Down.

Photo © 2007 NTPL / Jerry Harpur

Rowallane isa garden for all seasons with an appeal for the plantsman or the visitor who simply enjoys a walk in beautiful surroundings. In the middle of the 19th century, the Rev John Moore took the first steps to create a garden from the farmland at Rowallane. He built a Wall Garden, created the Pleasure Grounds and planted many trees to provide shelter. In 1903 the garden passed to his nephew Hugh Armitage Moore, a keen plantsman who used the shelter created by his uncle and natural features such as the outcrops of whinstone rock to assemble a collection of plants from many parts of the world. The garden is famous for its magnificent display of Rhododendrons and Azaleas but there is much more.

The Wall Garden, which once grew the Reverend John's vegetables, now contains an extensive collection of herbaceous plants, shrub roses and fuchsias which display throughout the summer. The blue Meconopsis and the National Collection of Penstemon (large flowered cvs.) are found here. The Rock Garden - a huge outcrop of whinstone rock - has primulas, heathers and dwarf shrubs. In high Summer the meadows are speckled with wild flowers. Autumn brings a spectacular display of foliage colour and throughout the winter many interesting birds can be seen feeding in the grounds. There are several areas of natural wild flowers to attract butterflies.