In mid-summer, the golden brickwork of Hidcote House is
disguised by a haze of silken bells, when the surrounding garden’s
staggeringly tall, lilac-coloured foxgloves erupt into flower. It’s
an exuberant display. The late Lawrence Johnston, a keen
horticulturist, designed the 10.5-acre Gloucester garden in Arts
and Crafts style, in keeping with the 17th-century former
farmhouse. Wander its leafy expanses to discover secret glades,
unexpected vistas across Cotswold countryside and hidden pathways that
wind into the Wilderness – a secluded stretch of woodland that
fringes the estate. Come the warmer months, the beds overflow with
blousy blooms, star-like dahlia knocking heads with fragrant
campanulas.

As temperatures rise, the balmy Kentish air above the celebrated
gardens of Sissinghurst is perfumed by an excess of rose blooms.
Lovingly tended by the poet, novelist and journalist Vita
Sackville-West and her diplomat husband Harold Nicolson in the
1930s, the romantic garden is renowned for its historic rose bushes
– and literary connections. The couple’s informal planting
arrangements threw off the stuffy formality of Victorian
horticulture, liberating the classic English garden with cascades
of frilled flowers, effusive herbal scents and dizzying border
displays. Caper along the regal Purple Border, waltz between the
ditzy blooms of the Cottage Garden (pen in hand, to jot down your
stream-of-conscious musings, in light of Vita’s lover, Virginia
Woolf, having been a regular visitor), then head into the recently
restored Delos Garden, whose rocky expanse of resilient foliage and
hot-toned blooms are inspired by Greek planting.

Tucked beneath the undulating curves of the chalk-boned South Downs, these sprawling gardens saw their
first flower beds dug in 1622. Then, almost 400 years later, a
patient restoration by gardener Jim Buckland revived the waning
elegance. Begin your wanderings through the majestic collection of
Victorian glasshouses, which are brimming with languorous vines and
weighty fruits, then stroll across to the sunken garden’s 100m-long
pergola to admire its nodding clematis and gaggles of blousy
geranium in shades of crimson, coral and amaranth. Beyond the
formal gardens, the surrounding parkland is watched over by ancient
weald; strike out on the 4km circuit of the arboretum to catch
glossy rhododendron groves and, in summer, the white haze of
wildflowers. Post-perambulation, a hearty farm-to-fork lunch at the
nearby Goodwood Estate’s Farmer, Butcher, Chef awaits.

Founded in 1673 as the Apothecaries’ Garden and situated close to the River Thames for optimum climate, this oasis was set up to train apprentices and identify plants. Despite being home to over 5,000 different edible, useful and medicinal plants (many of which have changed the world), it is often overlooked by busy Londoners. Visit for educational ambling.

This sub-tropical garden is a little patch of paradise in Cornwall. Glendurgan’s history stretches back to 1820 when the valley was purchased by Alfred Fox; in 1833 he developed the famous laurel maze. Blooming with magnolias, wildflowers, woodland flora and exotic trees, the gardens are at their best in the spring. Continue your explorations beyond the garden and follow the external path that leads down to Durgan Beach and the Helford River.

This regal house and garden was built for Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick in 1555. Famous for its waterworks and sculptures, Victorian rock garden and labyrinthine maze, the 105-acre garden is quite a site to behold. It’s no surprise, then, that the house was featured as Pemberley in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice – and retains all the pomp and charm of its fictional proprietor Mr. Darcy.

In spring, tiptoe through the carpet of dainty English bluebells and follow the winding paths through the great wood before reaching rows of hellebores, daffodils and rhododendron. The formal garden is the result of three centuries of inspired planting, with wisteria and peonies marking the garden’s perimeter. Grab a waymarked map and head out into the 500 acres of parkland and woods.

With majestic avenues and sprawling formal gardens, the grounds at Anglesey Abbey are some of the grandest in England. Each season offers a different highlight, from snowdrops and spring bulbs (including magnificent displays of hyacinths in the formal garden and tulips in the Himalayan silver-birch grove) to the sweeping herbaceous border and English rose garden in summer. Late arrivals will enjoy colourful dahlias in September.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site dates back to 1759, making it one of the oldest botanic gardens in the UK. Head to the treetop walkway 59 feet above the ground, where you can wander among lime, sweet chestnut and oak trees while admiring the magical glasshouses, stately buildings and beds of orchids that fill the gardens below.

Famous for its 17th-century topiary gardens – with some pieces over nine metres high – designed by Monsieur Beaumont in 1694, Levens Hall is a maze-like, surrealist garden. Get lost amid geometric and abstract shapes like the Howard Lion, Queen Elizabeth and four peacocks, before retiring to the nearby tea rooms.