Garden visits

Budleigh Salterton Gardens and Sea Gardens

Another new opening for the NGS this season, the Sea Gardens lie on a cliff top along the Jurassic Coastal Path above the beach looking towards mouth of the River Otter and on to Lyme Bay. The gardens are planted to tolerate strong winds and sea spray in winter and hot dry conditions in summer. The Sea Gardens are on the opposite side of the road from the houses, creating a quillet (strips of land together forming a larger plot). Upper Westcott with many diverse herbaceous borders is situated behind the 18th green of East Devon Golf Club.

Holcombe Court Gardens, Holcombe Rogus, near Wellington, Devon

Hidden away behind its walls are the sweeping seven acres of gardens of this Grade-I listed Tudor manor house on the Devon/Somerset border and next to the village church. The gardens are resplendent with herbaceous borders, trout ponds and a Victorian rockery, a restored and recreated woodland garden and vegetable parterre, and there’s an apple orchard and espaliers in the 18th century walled garden.

Open for Hospiscare: Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th September, 11am –5pm. Admission: £4.50. Tea and cakes available.

Lydeard House, Bishops Lydeard near Taunton

Mr and Mrs Colin Wilkins moved into Lydeard House in 1999 and began a major restoration programme in the four-acre garden over more than a decade. The silted-up lake was dredged revealing the 18th century retaining walls complemented by the two bridges; a silt trap was built, incorporated in the dredged canal, and the adjoining pergola was restored with new planting of Victorian roses. A small woodland garden was cleared, followed by a walled veg garden, a Chinoiserie garden inspired by a reference in 1788 to a Chinese Gate in the grounds, and the Temple Folly.

Yews Farm, Martock, Somerset

There’s a theatrical feel to the planting in the large walled garden at Yews Farm with outsized plants in a jungle garden. Sculptural planting has been chosen for height, shape, leaf and texture. There’s a self-seeded gravel garden, a box and bay ball border, espalier apples, eclectic cloud pruning, and much block planting. Yews Farm also has a working organic kitchen garden, hens, pigs, an orchard and an active cider barn. Owners Louise and Fergus Dowding grow the Martock broad bean, the only known survivor of a medieval variety of broad bean.

Blicks Hill House, Malmesbury, Wiltshire

Alan and Valerie Trotman’s garden on a one-acre stepped and sloping site has mature trees providing a backdrop to the colourful beds and borders created since 2004 for year-round interest. A pergola leads to a woodland glade, while a water feature and stream has been constructed in green slate; there are hanging baskets, tubs and bedding plants to add extra impact. This is a plantsman’s garden containing many unusual and special plants.

Old Droxford Station, Soberton near Southampton

Jo and Tony Williams’ garden is a sympathetically restored railway station with a fascinating history: Winston Churchill was based in a train here immediately before D Day in June 1944 where he met General De Gaulle and other senior leaders. The garden was replanted from 2010 but has many established specimen trees including an Indian bean tree and Metasequoia. A new orchard was planted in 2009 and a kitchen garden using railway sleeper raised beds. The former track and adjacent paddocks are an established wild flower garden.

4 Nightingale Mews, Locks Heath, near Southampton

A new opening for the NGS this year, Mrs Kath Stratton’s garden is three miles west of Fareham, and won a gold award for hanging and wall baskets in Fareham in Bloom. It’s a very colourful steeply sloping terraced garden 65ftx75ft, established over five years and divided into varied sections including a shady white garden with a water feature. A shelled gazebo at the top has stunning views of the striking planting, sculptures and planted roof garden. A lower patio, with hanging baskets and pots, has seats to see different perspectives of trees and shrubs in the tiered garden.

Wick Village Gardens, near Pershore, Worcestershire

Opening their gardens biennially, Wick village just a mile from Pershore has some new gardens to show to visitors this time, as well as the spectacle of 25 acres of confetti fields (Wick is the home of The Real Flower Petal Company). With new alpine gardens, a small arboretum, pergola walks, courtyard gardens and a display of garden implements there is something of interest behind every garden gate.

Avon Dassett Gardens, Southam, Warwickshire

There’s a whole range of gardens to explore in this pretty Hornton stone village seven miles north of Banbury, sheltering in the lee of the Burton Dassett hills, with kitchen gardens, gravel and tropical gardens, and plants including alpines, herbaceous, perennials, roses, climbers and shrubs. Apart from visiting the gardens there’s lots to see at the art exhibition, another exhibition, book sale, plant tombola and the two churches are open.

The Mill House, Netherbury, Dorset

Michael and Giustina Ryan’s six and a half acres around the River Brit has a mill stream and mill pond, formal walled, terraced and vegetable gardens, and a bog garden. Wander through the wild garden planted with many rare and interesting trees including conifers, magnolias, fruit trees and oaks. The next opening is combined with 2 Pyes Plot, a small front and back courtyard garden where every inch is used creatively. Cream walls and black paintwork make a striking framework for softer planting. Climbing plants, foliage and a running water feature enhance the peaceful atmosphere.

Country Gardener

Widely regarded as the authority on gardening in the south west