Living dolphinia in County Durham
Thornton Hall Gardens near my hometown Darlington describes his owners as “a hobby that gets out of control”. The owner Sue Manieren began working alone at the garden after bought the old hall with her husband Mike in 1989. Nowadays, the gardens are among the best in the country. If you hike, you will discover a rich selection of rare and unusual flowers that mix with striking trees and beautiful shrubs. In addition to lively collections of dolphinia, peony and iris, over 100 roses bloom, all of which are set in lush, flowing borders and carefully arranged island beds. Since Thornton Hall is a working farm, the gardens are only open this summer on nine days (£ 10, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
Mike Ladyman
Sums with bees, Gotha Gardens, Hertfordshire
The location of the family-owned Gotha gardens on the Pembroke Farm in North Hertfordshire was a field until 1990. The original plan was to create a forest walk with plants in order to attract pollinators and other wild animals, but then topics and formal areas were added. During our visit, Lila Delphiniums and Alliens buzzed with bees, and we watched water boats and there around the pond. Hiking through the different sections felt like you were visiting separate open-air rooms, with places to sit and enjoy. We also loved the tea and scones in the small outer café of the garden.
It is open every week on Friday to Monday and only costs a five to get in.
Sharon Pinner
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Tips from the Guardian Travel Readers
Every week we ask our readers for recommendations from their travels. A selection of tips is displayed online and can appear in printed form. To take part in the latest competition, visit the reader tips homepage
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An Italian terrace in Norwich
The plantation garden is located somewhat outside the city center and possibly overlooked by visitors (but not from locals). Entry into this sunken Victorian garden feels like you are entering another world. With the time to kill home before catching a train, we spent a nice afternoon with the 1.2 hectare (three hectares in size), walked on the forest paths and admire the view from the Italian terrace before we enjoyed a cup of tea and homemade cake to the sound of a live crook (part of a summer music program). The entrance costs only £ 2 and the place is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in spring and summer and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to March to March. For those who are lucky enough to be locally, they organize games, music and practice courses every summer.
Lisa
Wild beauty through the Menai Straits, Gwynedd
When I visited Treborth Botanic Garden in May, it was full of life. The gardens comprise 18 hectares along the coast of the Menai road and are owned by Bangor University and mix wild beauty with careful horticulture. Informative labels led me through a collection of fascinating plants, while in a wildlife area a pond with tadpoles and living dragonflies became. Glashouses (restricted entrance) host cacti and orchids. The paths through the old forest led to the Menai Bridge and offered a spectacular view across the street. Treborth also has award -winning gardens, including a Chelsea Flower Show Gold medalist. It is free to enter and open in daylight every day.
Pamela
Cornwalls constantly beautiful peninsula
The formal gardens in Mount Edgcumbe Country Park are hidden in the quiet hills of the Rame Peninsula, but are only a short foot ferry trip from Plymouth. You can enter and cover three hectares and 500 years of historical garden design in a rear label. Bay arches serve as a portals between Italy of the 18th century and the France of the 19th century and the characteristic flora of New Zealand. Ice is in the rainy orangery and the shady serenity in the distant Dell. It is not only human visitors who enjoy this area: the park is also the first reserve Great Britain for rare, Kornische Black Bees. The park and the lower gardens are open all year round.
Charlotte Robinsmith
Horticultural masterwerk, Harlow, Essex
The Gibberd garden outside of Harlow, Essex, is proof of the determination of a collector. From the architectural rescue, from the developer's Bulldozern to contemporary sculptures to Staffordshire figures that were shown in the house, the architect Sir Frederick Gibberd collected them all and used them to improve the steep, bach he bought with his wife. He easily ran the stream to create a damp fort for his grandchildren with work bridges -a swing, a tree house, a grotto and completed the magic with imaginative planting, including a glorious mosaic beech hedge. Find small treasures to enjoy and impress monumental characteristics and improve any rotation and Vista. Open on Wednesdays and Sundays and public holidays on Mondays; Adults £ 6, under 16, £ 1. Oh, and there is an excellent café on site.
Vicky
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A halberbore of a place, Somerset
Admission to East Lambrook men's gardens that are hidden in the landscape of Somerset feels like you are getting into a living painting. It was designed by the influential gardener Margery Fish and is a port of winding paths, quirky plant combinations and unusual treasures that are integrated at every border. I visited a low fruits and almost had the space for me-just the smell of the damp earth, the buzzing of the bees and the joy of discovering rare halber and old-fashioned roses on every corner. My tip? Go on a weekday and linger – the kindergarten has to take incredible finds home, and the tiny café serves tea that tastes twice as good after such a quiet magical environment. The gardens are open on Tuesday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and cost £ 7, whereby the U-16 year olds are free of charge.
Mahesh Lakhani
Walls of the 17th century, northwestlondon
Church Gardens is a hidden jewel on the outskirts of the Hardefield Village, a few miles north of Uxbridge. The couple who has Kay and Patrick Mchugh to have a musician and architectural award hard for about 25 years to bring the hectares of the walled gardens of the 17th century back from the dilapidated. The kitchen garden is a patchwork of beautifully designed features, including 56 geometrically arranged organic vegetable beds. It is believed that the orchard is the remains of a historically significant Renaissance. With a unique, arched wall with 33 identical niches, very few gardens of this kind survived the landscape movement. The gardens are open on Sundays (12-17 p.m.) and Monday holidays (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), adults £ 7.50, children £ 3.
Sarah Bayley
Incredible vegetables, Moray
We found our summer visit in the walled garden of Gordon Castle, which lies between the Spey River and the Moray Coast, 50 miles east of Interness. With about three hectares (eight hectares) it is fully to the edge with vegetables, fruit and flowers that inspired us to grow. Friendly gardeners were happy to gave us insights into what is growing and told us about their own beautiful adventures in the garden. The café uses the delicious products of the garden and also has a brilliant shop. All for £ 10 for adults (child, £ 5) in summer (or free of charge for RHS members on Thursdays). It is open every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but the café is not open on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Siobhan
Winning tip: A garden that drips with moderate rainforest decorations
Lovers of trees and poaching gardens have to take time to drive west to Ardkinglas Woodland Garden near Inverary in Argyll. At the modest price of £ 5 (children £ 2.50, opened all year round over dusk to dawn) you can hike alongside the Himalaya bushes and native British trees under highly towering North American conifers, all of which drip all with this lavish moderate moderate rainforest decoration of moss and braids. Visitors can recognize red squirrels that jump on beautifully chaotic deadwood, try to swim forest pool in Daplyem light with the sweet smell of resin and watch dipper along the burning. Ardkinglas combines a formal arboretum with the wildwood and does it quite great.
Liam