Finest gardens in Britain

10 of the best secret gardens in Britain — and how you can visit them

The lure of a secret garden is as strong now as it was when Frances Hodgson Burnett first published The Secret Garden over a century ago. With a recent film adaptation — the fifth — having hit screens, Juliet Roberts selects a few of her favourite secret gardens.

Iford Manor: How Harold Peto created a Wiltshire masterpiece that 'that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary'

Troy Scott-Smith, head gardener at Iford Manor, tells the tale of how the great Harold Peto found Iford and used it to his gardening and architectural dreams come to life.

By Troy Scott-Smith Published 4 October 20
Painswick Rococo Garden: Hidden pavilions and romantic copses, watched over by the god of woodland revels

Tiffany Daneff visits Painswick Rococo Garden, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, one of the best examples of a Rococo garden in this country — a place of hidden pavilions and romantic copses watched over by the god of woodland revels. Photographs by Britt Willoughby Dyer.

By Tiffany Daneff Published 3 October 20
Bere Mill: The riverside gardens in Hampshire created in as natural and as sensitive a way as possible

Informed by the Japanese ‘landscape in the garden’ tradition, the naturalistic riverside gardens of Bere Mill, Hampshire, flow with ease into their languid surroundings says Tiffany Daneff. Pictures by Andrea Jones.

By Tiffany Daneff Published 12 September 20
The Gardens of Monteviot, a garden where magic lingers for future generations

James Truscott is entranced by a series of new gardens at Monteviot, near Jedburgh. that that successfully captures the magic of growing up in a place rich in history and legend. Photographs by Andrea Jones.

By Country Life Published 29 August 20
Parceval Hall: Tucked away in a corner of the Yorkshire Dales, a great garden that's perfectly restored

Steven Desmond visits the early-20th-century garden created at Parcevall Hall in Skyreholme, North Yorkshire, by Sir William Milner and now triumphantly restored. Photographs by Richard Bloom.

By Steven Desmond Published 27 June 20

Arundel Cathedral looms above the gardens just as the castle does.

Arundel Castle Gardens: 'Sometimes, a garden catches you unawares... the thought keeps recurring: I’ve never seen anything like this before.'

Tiffany Daneff visits Arundel Castle Gardens, sitting in the shadow of the castle and the cathedral at this beautiful West Sussex town, where head gardener Martin Duncan and his team have worked wonders with their bold and innovative plantings.

Madresfield Court near Malvern in Worcestershire

Madresfield Court: A Worcestershire garden where new and old combine in perfect harmony

Steven Desmond visits Madresfield Court in Worcestershire, where high Victorian romanticism has been blended with modern ideas to create a remarkable garden.

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10 of the best secret gardens in Britain — and how you can visit them

Iford Manor: How Harold Peto created a Wiltshire masterpiece that 'that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary'

Painswick Rococo Garden: Hidden pavilions and romantic copses, watched over by the god of woodland revels

Bere Mill: The riverside gardens in Hampshire created in as natural and as sensitive a way as possible

The Gardens of Monteviot, a garden where magic lingers for future generations

Parceval Hall: Tucked away in a corner of the Yorkshire Dales, a great garden that's perfectly restored

The national collection of rambling roses at Moor Wood, 'one of midsummer’s most beautiful and romantic gardens in England'

Inside the incredible Private Gardens at Petworth House, a space with 'a sense of privacy and intimacy' at one of Britain's great houses

The gardens at the Old Rectory in Litton Cheney, where formal and informal come together in harmony

Arundel Castle Gardens: 'Sometimes, a garden catches you unawares... the thought keeps recurring: I’ve never seen anything like this before.'

Reddish House: The 'dream house' and gardens of Cecil Beaton, restored for the 21st century just as he'd have wished

Lowther Castle: The spectacular and historic gardens that rise from one of Britain's most evocative ruins

Britain is blossoming – here’s where to make the most of this beautiful moment in Spring

Flowers, greenhouses and political intrigue: The extraordinary tale of Fulham Palace Gardens

Powis Castle: An exemplary, inspirational and uplifting garden full fit for the 21st century

Scotland’s first formal gardens, reinvigorated with geometric precision

Benvarden: A Country Antrim garden rich with of generations of care

Nymans Garden: The West Sussex gem that's been at the cutting edge for over 120 years

Humphry Repton's 'secret country gem' at Endsleigh, one of the finest hotel gardens in Britain

Madresfield Court: A Worcestershire garden where new and old combine in perfect harmony

Ten simply magnificent photographs of Pashley Manor, Britain's greatest tulip festival

Ablington Manor: A magnificent house and gardens almost untouched by the passing of time

The last word on Capability Brown – but one which comes with a health warning

The life and times of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown