Barnsley House Gardens Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

Photo © Barnsley House

When David Verey inherited Barnsley House from his father in 1950, the garden was suffering from lack of wartime labour. David and Rosemary began to redesign the garden in 1960, and have combined a feeling of 17th century with their 20th century planting. Patterns, vistas and year-long interest all create inspiration for visitors. The classical temple, moved from Fairford Park in 1962, has a long vista towards a laburnum walk, in flower at the end of May and early June, and a Simon Verity fountain. The knot garden on the west side of the house, with designs copied from 16th and 17th century books, and the potager inspired by the writings of William Lawson, are Rosemary Verey's inspirations.

Batsford Arboretum Batsford Park, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire.

Photo © 2004 The Batsford Foundation

Established in 1880's, as a 'wild garden' with a collection of trees. Over 50 acres with 1500 different species, many rare, naturalised bulbs, magnolias, flowering cherries and the 'handkerchief tree' in spring. Maples and sorbus in autumn. Something of interest all year round. National Collection of Prunus (sato-sakura Group).

Brook Cottage Well Lane, Alkerton, Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Photo © Brook Cottage Garden

The 4 acre garden has been formed by a plantswoman and an architect almost entirely since 1964 on the west facing slope of the valley which divides the villages of Shenington and Alkerton. Apart from a small area above the 17th century house (not open) the whole site consisted of rough pasture divided by old hedges. In the vicinity of the house the landscaping has been designed to link areas of lawn and terrace with the natural slopes and to create enclosures with a series of yew and copper beech hedges.

Beyond and below the brook, groups of trees and shrubs growing in grass merge the garden into the surrounding countryside. A wide variety of plants is grown, some rarely seen, inluding bulbs, perennials, well over 300 roses, flowering and foliage shrubs, water and bog plants, and alpines in a small scree garden. A white border is seen against the yew hedge, while the yellow border is backed by a hedge of copper beech.

There is something of interest to be seen throughout the season. Early spring bulbs are followed by a profusion of double white cherry blossom. The water garden with primulas, iris, astilbes, day lilies and many bog plants is at its best from early June to mid July, followed by the 'hanging garden' of species, old fashioned and modern shrub roses for which the garden is renowned. Over 50 varieties of clematis scramble over stone walls, shrubs and around the tennis court, mostly late flowering from July onwards when the harbaceous perennials are also at their best and continue providing interest until the season ends with hips, berries and autumn colour.

Bourton House Bourton on the Hill, Moreton in the Marsh, Gloucestershire.

Photo © www.bourtonhouse.com

Imaginatively planted 3 acre garden in a delightful Cotswold setting. There is a profusion of excitingly planted containers, from lead cisterns to stone troughs and a myriad of terracotta pots. Also featured are a knot garden, herbaceous and colour borders, a potager, topiary and an exciting shade house. A fountain and small pots add to the tranquillity of various garden rooms. The young trees planted in the adjoining 7 acre walled pasture are starting to provide great interest. This is a recently established garden which is constantly evolving. The garden is set around an elegant 18th century manor house (not open.)

Castle Ashby Gardens nr. Northampton.

Photo © Explore Northamptonshire 2007

An Elizabethan mansion, seat of the 7th Marquess of Northampton with a combination of 18th and 19th century garden styles. A mature arboretum shelters a charming Italian garden with formal ponds, terracotta vases and topiary. The arboretum contains some superb mature trees, especially the layering horse chestnut and the weeping beech. The gardens are renowned for their native wild flowers and a wide range of flowering bulbs.

Much thought and money has recently been spent on restoring the gardens at Castle Ashby. The Italian formal gardens were among the first to be renewed, and the arboretum has been restocked. There are stylish terraces, an orangery and greenhouses built by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt in the 1860s but perhaps the best thing about Castle Ashby is the park - 200 acres of it, designed by 'Capability' Brown.

Cliveden (NT) Taplow, Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire.

Photo © NTPL / Paul Watson

The 152 hectares of garden and woodland include a magnificent parterre, a water garden and miles of woodland walks with spectacular views of the Thames. Hosts the National Collection of Catalpa (the Indian Bean Tree.)

Coton Manor Garden Coton, Northampton.

Photo © 2006 Coton Manor Garden

The manor house dates from 1662 with later additions. This is a traditional 10 acre English garden which includes terraces, a rose garden, woodland garden, water garden, herbaceous borders, herb garden and bluebell wood with a large range of unusual plants. The Information Britain pages have further information.

Cottesbrooke Hall and Gardens Cottesbrooke, Northamptonshire.

Photo © www.cottesbrookehall.co.uk

The formal and Wild Gardens surrounding and adjacent to the house have in the main been developed during the course of the present century. The gardens are both celebrated and of great distinction. They include fine old cedars and specimen trees with formal parterres and magnificent double herbaceous borders, as well as small individually planted courtyards. In addition there are water and wild gardens including rhododendrons, bamboos, gunneras and fine foliage plants.

Dorneywood Garden (NT) Burnham, Buckinghamshire.

Dorneywood was left to the National Trust by Lord Courtauld-Thomson in 1942 with instructions that it was to be used as an official residence by the Prime Minister of the day, or a senior cabinet minister. On his death in 1954, his estate was arranged to create a fund, known as the Dorneywood Trust, which pays for the upkeep of the property, at no cost to the National Trust or to the public purse.

A 2.5 hectare garden on several levels consisting of herbaceous borders, a rose garden, cottage and kitchen gardens, maintained in the style of the 1930s. Dorneywood House is an official residence for a Secretary of State or Minister of the Crown (not open to the public). Entry by written appointment only.

Hidcote Manor Garden (NT) nr. Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.

Photo © NTPL / Nick Meers

One of the most delightful gardens in England, created by the great horticulturist Major Lawrence Johnston. A series of small gardens separated by walls and hedges, Hidcote is famous for rare shrubs, trees, herbaceous borders, 'old roses' and interesting plant species.

Hodges Barn Shipton Moyne, Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

The garden 'bones' at Hodges Barn were laid out in the 1930's and though halted in the early years of the Second World War, were continued by Italian prisoners of war waiting to be repatriated home in 1946. Their influence in the design of the garden is apparent in the Italianate detail of walls and terraces. The present owner and her husband worked very hard indeed to bring the garden to its present beautiful and immaculate state.

There are subtle tapestry hedges backing masses of summer flowering perennials, with old-fashioned roses draping and falling through the whole. Impeccable lawns sweep down to a pond and water-garden where cool spreading arms of leafy trees reach out to the surrounding countryside bringing into the garden the fields of the Cotswolds. Behind the house, lavender edged paths lead to the neatly laid out vegetable plots and espaliered fruits of summer.

This is a large garden - 6 acres surrounding a converted 15th-century columbarium - all intensively planted. The terraces, courtyards and gardens are divided into rooms (surrounded either by walls or by tapestry, laurel or yew hedges) to give year-round colour. Old-fashioned rose beds are underplanted with tulips for spring and with alliums and campanulas for summer. There is a formal herbaceous border, a water garden and a swimming pool area with large planted pots. Shrub roses and climbers are to be found winding up walls and trees. The plantings reflect a desire to create an informal feeling within a formal framework. The woodland garden is almost an arboretum of ornamental trees (especially birches, maples, whitebeams and many different magnolias), underplanted with spring bulbs. In summer the grass is left long in the wood and wildflowers are encouraged to naturalise. Hodges Barn is a garden of great energy and diversity.

Hughenden Manor (NT) High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

Photo © NTPL / Matthew Antrobus

The Manor was the home of Prime Minister and statesman Benjamin Disraeli from 1847 until his death in 1881. The park and woodland have lovely walks and the garden is a recreation of the original colourful design of his wife, Mary Anne. Lawns, terraced garden, herbaceous border, formal annual bedding, walled garden and orchard. Attractive riverside, park and woodland trails.

Kiftsgate Court Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.

Photo © www.kiftsgate.co.uk

Kifsgate Courts is in a magnificent position with extensive views. The garden has many unusual plants, shrubs, tree peonies, hydrangeas and abutilons. Famous as the home of the giant 'Kiftsgate' roses, it also has a collection of old-fashioned roses.

Mill Dene Garden Blockley, nr. Moreton-in-the-Marsh, Gloucestershire.

Photo © www.milldenegarden.co.uk

A beautiful 2.5 acre Cotswold water-mill garden, designed and planted by the owner. Steep, lawned terraces wind down to the mill, pool, stream and grotto. A rose walk, edged with lavender is lovely in late June, the cricket lawn with views over the Cotswolds leads up to the fruit garden and potager. The garden has many seats to enjoy the tranquility and vistas.

Oxford University Botanic Garden Oxford.

Photo © Karl Harrison 2002

Situated on the banks of the River Cherwell, the University of Oxford Botanic Garden is the perfect place to escape the noise of the city whilst enjoying a classic yet contemporary garden full of stunning plants. The Garden consists of three sections. The Glasshouses contain plants that need protection from the extremes of the British weather. The area outside the Walled Garden contains classic garden features such as a Water Garden and Rock Garden as well as the innovative Black Border and Autumn Borders. Within the Walled Garden plants are grouped in a number of different ways such as by country of origin, botanic family or economic use.

This Garden is the oldest botanic garden in the UK (1621) displaying over 7,000 different species in a grade 1 walled family ordered garden, exotic glasshouses, water and rock gardens and beautiful borders. National Collection of Euphorbia. The Garden has a packed calendar of events for all ages throughout the year including festival days. Guided tours are also available.

Painswick Rococo Garden nr. Stroud, Gloucestershire.

Photo © www.rococogarden.co.uk

This is a most interesting garden, a survivor from a short but evolutionary time in gardening history. More often associated with the arts and architecture than with gardens, the Rococo style is associated with the French words rocaille meaning rock-work and coquille, a shell. The garden layout combines the formality of long vistas and geometric patterns with informal winding paths, off-centred design and a number of building styles.

The 6 acre garden has been under restoration since 1984 with guidance from archaelogical excavations and a remarkable painting of 1748 by Thomas Robins. The restored garden is now beginning to mature and one can see unusual features as the designer intended, as one strolls around the serpentine garden paths. Fascinating garden features include The Melon Ground, The Doric Seat, The Plunge Pool, The Exedra, The Red House, The Geometric Kitchen Garden, The Gothic Alcove, The Pigeon House, The Eagle House, The Bowling Green and The Fish Pond. This place is of great significance in the evolution of garden design.
See also the Sisley Tours web site.

Rousham House Gardens nr Steeple Aston, Bicester, Oxfordshire.

Photo © www.manorhousegallery.co.uk

The gardens and house were redesigned in the 1740's by William Kent, a predecessor of 'Capability' Brown. His major constructions were the addition of the wings and the stable block. He also built the eyecatcher or folly on the opposite hillside; the mill beside the river; and redecorated much of the interior of the house, creating many fascinating and beautiful effects. The gardens of Rousham are almost unchanged, being the best preserved example of Kent's landscaping left in the world, and represent the first phase of English landscape design. The many Kent features still extant include: various ponds and cascades in Venus' Vale, the Cold Bath, and seven arched Praeneste, Townesend's Building, and The Temple of the Mill.

Snowshill Manor (NT) Broadway, Gloucestershire.

Photo © NTPL / Nick Meers

The intimate garden is laid out as a series of outdoor rooms, with terraces and ponds, and wonderful views across the Cotswold countryside. . It is the essence of a British garden made by a very English eccentric." - Monty Don. The home of thousands of fascinating treasures collected entirely by architect and craftsman, Charles Paget Wade. Explore the terraces, byres and ponds of the organic garden

Star Cottage Cowgrove, Wimborne Minster, Dorset.

A new garden, created from a field in 1992. Ponds, rockeries, formal, paved, autumn, winter, spring, rose, flower arrangers' and wild gardens, shrub and herbaceous borders.

Stowe Landscape Gardens (NT) Buckingham, Buckinghamshire.

Photo © NTPL / Andrew Butler

One of the supreme creations of the Georgian era. The first, formal layout was adorned with many buildings by Vanbrugh, Kent and Gibbs; in the 1730's Kent designed the Elysian Fields in a more naturalistic style, one of the earliest examples of the reaction against formality leading to the evolution of the landscape garden. Miraculously, this beautiful garden survives; its sheer scale must make it Britain's largest work of art.

Sudeley Castle Gardens Winchcombe, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Photo © http://gardens.sudeleycastle.co.uk

The Gardens at Sudeley Castle were laid out in the 19th century during the restoration of the Castle and are on an intimate, informal scale rare for a house of this size. The glory of Sudeley today is the Queen's Garden, laid out in the 1850's on the site of the old Tudor parterre. The double yew hedges were planted in 1856, but what was originally a very formal herb garden is now the site for a spectacular planting of over 800 old fashioned roses.

Waddesdon Manor (NT) nr. Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Photo © National Trust / Hugh Palmer / the Rothschild Collection

The gardens were laid out from 1874-98 under the direction of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild. One of the finest Victorian gardens in Britain, renowned for its seasonal displays. Innovative use of trees and shrubs coupled with flamboyant displays of bedding plants in the recently restored formal parterre, the elaborate raised ribbon Victorian display is planted twice a year with spring and summer bedding. There is a recently restored water garden.

Westonbirt Arboretum Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

Photo © Crown Copyright 2007

Westonbirt, The National Arboretum is one of the most spectacular tree gardens in the world. An historical collection of over 3,000 different trees and shrub species many of which are rare or endangered in their native lands. Covering 600 acres and run by the Forestry Commission, Westonbirt has one of the finest collections of trees and shrubs in the world. It contains 18,000 trees, planted from 1829 to the present day. It is famous for its magnificent displays of rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias, prunus and wild flowers of Silk Wood. Autumn brings a dazzling kaleidoscope of colours, the best of which may be seen during the last week of October or first week of November. National Collection of Acer (Japanese cvs.)