Today I have a post from the fantastic Peach Perfect all about five great gardens to head to this summer. If you are still looking for some wonderful days out - then why not add these to your list.
Summer is here, with the sound of lawnmowers whirring all around and gardeners rolling up their sleeves, sowing seeds and planting summer beds. It’s the perfect time to celebrate our great British gardens – and maybe pick up a few tips for our own outdoor spaces, too.
With so many amazing gardens to choose from, we found it hard to decide on our five favourites! Here’s our final shortlist of gardens we recommend visiting this summer…
Starting in the Scilly Isles, the stunning sub-tropical Tresco Abbey Gardens has been described as “Kew Gardens without the glass”. Here, you’ll find thousands of plants flourishing from all round the world.
Explore the unusual Valhalla Museum, featuring figureheads from shipwrecks off the islands’ coasts. And take your time to discover the wealth of hidden treasures and open spaces in this luxuriant garden (pictured below).
The Royal Horticultural Society is, of course, the go-to place for dedicated gardeners. Its flagship RHS Garden at Wisley, Surrey, houses one of the largest plant collections in the world.
You can stroll around a huge number of fantastic sights including the Glasshouse and Exotic, Walled and Rock Gardens. And watch out for the garden’s brand new 75-metre Wisteria Walk and the Battleston Hill in fabulous full spring bloom.
No gardening shortlist would be complete without an appearance by the National Trust and we’ve chosen the lovely Hidcote Manor Garden in Gloucestershire (main picture and below). Walking through this Arts and Crafts garden, you’ll discover a carefully cultivated and intricately designed series of outdoor rooms.
These become less formal as you move away from Lawrence Johnston’s manor house. You can even play tennis with period wooden rackets!
A relative newcomer is the National Botanic Garden of Wales, which opened in May 2000. Its enormous range of plant species and glorious location in 500 acres of Camarthen countryside makes it a must-see for gardeners and non-gardeners alike.
Admire the world’s largest single-span glasshouse and enjoy the outdoor and indoor art. And you can learn a huge amount about plant evolution and research from their experts!
Our final top-five place goes to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, just one mile from the city centre. The garden has an enormous selection of trees and shrubs, from giant redwoods to wild origin Chinese plants.
Its Living Collection also contains some of the world’s rarest plants. Don’t forget to visit the Victorian Temperate Palm House – the tallest in Britain – and explore the RBGE’s three linked gardens at Benmore, Dawyck and Logan.
What’s your favourite garden – is it on our shortlist? If not, please let us know in the comments below.
Do you have a favourite place to visit over the summer?
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Love walking through gardens especially in stately homes, so many varieties of plants and some amazing colours, wish i had a big enough garden to accommandate some shrubs i see
With temps of 99 – 105 BB’s favorito spot to be is in an air conditioned room. If she was tempted to stray outside and lived in Europa, those jardines look heavenly.
Gardens are so beautiful and peaceful. have you ever visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC? They have some amazing gardens. I’ve been wanting to go to the National Botanical Garden in Wales for a long time!
These are some beautiful gardens to visit. I love being able to see nature and fresh gardens that are so full of life and joy. I find it peaceful in gardens. Thanks for featuring your favorite gardens to visit.
I need to go to the Edinburgh botanical garden when I go back, but I don’t think much will be in bloom as it will be January. I love Compton Acres down by Bournemouth, it’s stunning x
Summer means outdoor-fun with family and friends. It can make pages of memories for life. I love going to the gardens and take photos of almost everything I see.
It has been a while since I’ve been to the botanical gardens in our area. They now charge to get in and it wasn’t super impressive except for the Japanese Gardens last time I went. I’ve moved to a new area in the metroplex that I live in and hope to explore the neighboring parks once it cools off. With my rheumatoid arthritis and fibro, the summer heat bothers me a ton.
I don’t go many places over the summer, particularly if it’s super hot or humid. All of these sound like a great place to escape heat and I’d love to see the outdoor rooms.
There’s so many pretty places to visit in this world I don’t think I have enough life to do it all. I will definitely be visiting a lot of these places just because of how gorgeous they are.
well i love this so much ha- i love going to gardens and seeing all the new flowers in bloom- my kids adore it too and wow that Botanic Garden in Wales is so gorgeous!
Those gardens are a great way to enjoy the last days of summer and are really beautidul. My husband is one of thoe amateurs aho fill the air with lawn mower buzz but he likes these professional spots to relax.
i love to visit gardens, this is a great article
Love walking through gardens especially in stately homes, so many varieties of plants and some amazing colours, wish i had a big enough garden to accommandate some shrubs i see
Wow so beautiful, I love gardens like these. So relaxing.
Beautiful photos! I love visiting places like this – such natural beauty.
Sheffield Park gardens are also a gorgeous place to visit if you are down South.
I must remember these places when my mum is looking for a day out!
I love going to gardens. It feels relaxing and I enjoy the natural serene. The Tresco Abbey Gardens seems like a great choice to add to my list.
We are off to Kew Gardens at the weekend, I haven’t been since I was a child so looking forward to it
My mum would love these. She has visited quite a few in Wales and loves them.
Those places look amazing! I love visiting the flower gardens. We have a good one nearby but didn’t go this year.
With temps of 99 – 105 BB’s favorito spot to be is in an air conditioned room. If she was tempted to stray outside and lived in Europa, those jardines look heavenly.
I love visiting botanical gardens. I always love walking through and admiring all the beautiful plants and flowers.
Gardens are so beautiful and peaceful. have you ever visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC? They have some amazing gardens. I’ve been wanting to go to the National Botanical Garden in Wales for a long time!
These are some beautiful gardens to visit. I love being able to see nature and fresh gardens that are so full of life and joy. I find it peaceful in gardens. Thanks for featuring your favorite gardens to visit.
I love visiting gardens in the summer. They are always so beautiful. You can see so many beautiful flowers and all sorts of neat things.
I really admire these kind of gardens. It is really beautiful and I always love to visit there!
I love looking at gardens some of these are a long way from where I live very beautiful though I could look at these all day they’re
so relaxing
It must be relaxing to go have walks into beautiful gardens. It quickly disconnects you to the busy city. Gardens are my escapes.
There are so beautiful gardens. These photos are really making me feel happy. thanks for sharing. I love it.
I need to go to the Edinburgh botanical garden when I go back, but I don’t think much will be in bloom as it will be January. I love Compton Acres down by Bournemouth, it’s stunning x
These gardens feel like pieces of paradise! Looks really relaxing and peaceful. Wish I coulssd be here right now!
How gorgeous! I’d love to visit some of these gardens someday. Thank you for sharing your recommendations!
Summer means outdoor-fun with family and friends. It can make pages of memories for life. I love going to the gardens and take photos of almost everything I see.
It has been a while since I’ve been to the botanical gardens in our area. They now charge to get in and it wasn’t super impressive except for the Japanese Gardens last time I went. I’ve moved to a new area in the metroplex that I live in and hope to explore the neighboring parks once it cools off. With my rheumatoid arthritis and fibro, the summer heat bothers me a ton.
These look like some awesome gardens to visit. I love how beautiful and peaceful gardens are to spend time in.
I don’t go many places over the summer, particularly if it’s super hot or humid. All of these sound like a great place to escape heat and I’d love to see the outdoor rooms.
I love visiting botanical gardens but haven’t actually visited any of these – I will have to pop them on my list.
We just discovered Pensthorpe in North Norfolk which has the most beautiful natural gardens
There’s so many pretty places to visit in this world I don’t think I have enough life to do it all. I will definitely be visiting a lot of these places just because of how gorgeous they are.
How pretty! I always love checking out gardens. Mostly because I can’t grow a thing, so I like to see what other people can grow.
well i love this so much ha- i love going to gardens and seeing all the new flowers in bloom- my kids adore it too and wow that Botanic Garden in Wales is so gorgeous!
I’d really enjoy seeing some of these gardens. The plant variety at the Botanic Garden of Wales sounds so impressive!
Those gardens are a great way to enjoy the last days of summer and are really beautidul. My husband is one of thoe amateurs aho fill the air with lawn mower buzz but he likes these professional spots to relax.
I love visiting botanical gardens. We visited one in St. Lucia and I saw cashew trees for the first time. It was a beautiful experience.