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The Garden Traveler

Best Gardens in UK/France?

Suzanne in Seattle

23 years ago

I'm honeymooning this September in Provence, France; and in England (London and small-town-to-be-determined in SW England, Wales or Scotland). We'd like to spend two days (only, alas) touring gardens. I'm tentatively thinking Giverny and Kew, but would you make recommendations?

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Comments (11)

cclairinch
23 years ago
Do NOT miss Kew gardens. They have specimins of plants from around the world. The British were (and are) consumate gardeners, and extensive travellers. My favourite? The medicinal herb garden. If you go to Scotland you should stop by Princes Street Gardens (just below the castle), no fee, just a beautiful display of wild flowers as well as more structured areas. Have fun, and congratulations on your wedding.
leonora
23 years ago
Still in Scotland - the Royal Botanic garden in Edinburgh has some beauties, although it's not as impressive as Kew.
You might also like to try Chelsa Physic garden, but I think it's omly open to the public on Wednesdays and Sundays - well, I KNOW it's open on Sundays, because we try to go there at least twice every summer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jane's gardening page
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We lived in the UK between 1975 and 1988. We have returned for visits at least once every two years. We have been all over the place in that time, from the north of Scotland to London. But we spent a good 5 years in London. London is a great city, but you certainly would not want to drive into Central London. First of all, there is no need to - it is so well served by public transport - you can buy a day pass which will get you on the Underground and on the buses for the whole day. Second, where are you going to park? Even seasoned drivers like my SIL, who has lived in London for 36 years, and who knows every nook and craney in London has difficulty finding parking spots. Even when she does find one, it's still a distance from where we want to get to. Third, London drivers are a sight to behold - not an activity for the fainthearted to indulge in. (And pedestrians - watch out!!) Fourth, those of us in North America used to the orderly vertical and horizontal grits of streets can potentially be totally lost in the streets of London, with it's the curves, turns, oneways, divided carriage ways, elevated carriage ways, multiple bridges and what nots. Your best bet would be to stay somewhere in the suburb, in a Bed and Breakfast, within walking distance of an Underground Station, and forget about the car for activities in London. However, a car will definitely be useful for excursions outside of London and it's suburbs - anywhere out of reach of the main city transportation grit. June is the best month for garden travellers. That's usually when the perennial beds are just coming into it's own, and at the same time, the once blooming roses are at their peak. There are some nice gardens, set within huge public parks, within the City London itself. My favourite is Regent's Park, which has nice gardens, including a well planted rose garden. If you are going to be able to spend more time, don't forget to go to one of the flower show. The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is usually held in the second week of July (5-10 July for 2005). It is one of the biggest such show in the world, if not already the biggest. It would be an "out of this world" experience for any avid gardener. And you can visit the gardens at Hampton Court to boot. The gardens that are "must see" for me anytime I am in London are the RHS Garden Wisley, and Kew Garden. Kew has a large rose garden with extensive arbours clothed by a huge selection of climbing roses and ramblers. My favourite is the garden of the history of roses, with plantings of species and old roses through the ages. It has a very large collection of bamboos. The palm house contains some of the oldest containerised plants in the world, including the oldest. Both Wisley and Kew has large rose beds. The one at Wisley has just been recently replanted, and may not have mature rose bushes yet, but like Kew it has a good collection of climbers. The trial garden in Wisley is usually very interesting. Beyond those two staple itineries, I spend the rest of the time visiting other gardens further afield. Sissinghurst is a "must see", at least once in your life. Leeds Castle has a beautiful garden. Others worth mentioning are Great Dixter, Hever Castle, Hatfield House and Hidcote Manor. Jon_in_Wessex has fired my interest in Monttisfond Abbey, which houses the National Collection of Old Garden Roses. There are lots more to see, if you would like to venture further away from London. We visited the Eden Project in Cornwall in 2003, and, IMO, it was fantastic. "Gardens in England A-Z" provides a list of some of the major garden attractions in England.
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Thanks Brissy for making me jealous especially when you mention the 'return trip'. I'd love to get over there just once! Enjoy yourself and we would love to see some decent pics. Can't recommend any sites as I haven't been there before however noticed this on the computer. France is Europe's up-and-coming country for gardens with some 800 to visit on Michael's list, and new ones are added weekly. Suggestions for the Northern part of France are the Bagatelle Gardens in Paris which contain good collections of irises and roses, the Floating Gardens of Amiens which can only be approached by water (there is a boat service), and the world renowned gardens of Claude Monet at Giverney. The French Riviera is studded with gardens created to accommodate its sub-tropical flora. Suggestions are the Rothschild's Villa Ephrussi, the gardens of La Mortolla which, in fact, in Italy, but only five minutes drive from the frontier at Menton. An American sculptor, Henry Clews, together with his wife Mary, created the gardens at the ChÃ¢teau of La Napoule, and are well worth a visit. Also for botanical interest there is the 800 Corkscrew Beech Tree's of Verzy that would be well worth a look in the north east of France. Also Generosa range of roses (Guillot)come from over there somewhere in France and would be very interesting to see how they go over there and future types to be introduced here. So much to see I think you may be glad to get home by the end of it but I'm still jealous.... Garry
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When you say you are 'going to school' I assume you mean university. If you are at the University of Bristol or UWE you will live in or near Bristol. In UK terms Shropshire is far too far away to commute. Go onto the RAC or AA route planner to see how long your journey would be and how complicated. Plus parking when you arrive will be a nightmare. And don't forget you'd probably be driving a stick shift. You are still thinking American, or rather Californian. Maybe a New Yorker would have more idea of these problems. From what you are saying here I think you really need to come and find out what it's like. Some of your ideas are way off beam, I'm afraid, including your concept of 'cool' if you think cannas like cool. Your succulents will likely end up as a slimy mush after a British winter of cold and wet. One thing you will have to get used to is the lack of sunshine, especially in winter. Temperatures may look similar to you but you need to remember that grey skies are to be expected. Any christmas trees you see growing will be sombody's crop, not wild native conifers, so for goodness sake, don't go chopping them down! Snails love our climate, as do slugs. I don't want to quell your enthusiasm but I'm afraid you are going to be rather shocked when you see just how small everything is here. Unless you are rolling in money you will find yourself with a very small area of garden in this area. (I live quite near Bristol) There are many compensations to living here but you need to come without preconceptions. Also, you don't say whether you are student or faculty. If the former how long will you be here? Will it be worth investing a lot of time and effort in a garden? I find it really hard to believe that it is worthwhile bringing all that stuff with you. You are moving to a nation of gardeners and you will find everything you could possibly need to garden here, with very little trouble. You may even find that the range of plants available is greater than you are used to. What's more it will be suited to the local climate. I have been looking at these forums for a while now and the whole concept of gardening seems very different in the UK to the States. We tend to view our gardens as long term fixtures which we tweak and maintain, not seasonal projects where we start from scratch annually, moving things around and altering them radically. Instead of trying to reproduce a Californian garden here, why not try new things? For example, make the most of our long springs to grow bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, snowdrops, crocuses etc and the many spring flowering shrubs and perennials. Best of luck. Flora.
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menkesjg-1_mindspring_com
22 years ago
Giverny is about an hour west of Paris which is a long way away from Provence. If Paris is in your plans and you have a half a day then definitely go to Giverny. My husband and I visted Giverny last May and thought it was simply gorgeous. Not sure about what gardens are in Provence however.
pierce_sohalang_com
22 years ago
Thanks for the advice, all! We've now decided on Provence, Florence, Paris [and Giverny], London [Kew] and Kent [Sissinghurst, Great Dixter]. I can't wait!
jenny_jraworth_freeserve_co_uk
22 years ago
If you are visiting the UK in early September there is a really beautiful garden at Rofford Manor, Little Milton, Near Oxford that is open on September 9th.
Another cottage garden to visit is Woodbury Cottage in Reigate, Surrey on 2nd and 9th September. Kew Gardens is fine but get a copy of the National Gardens Scheme book of gardens open for charity and see what is open.
dsteager_earthlink_net
22 years ago
If sight-seeing in Paris doesn't wear you out (or even if it does), it's great to pack a picnic lunch and go to the Bois de Vincennes and visit the Parc Floral, perhaps France's largest botanical garden. (they do sell food in the Parc) If you like dahlias, they have HUGE displays of them in September. (to others: if you're there in mid-late May, there are INCREDIBLE displays of iris, and the PinÃ¨de [pinetum] area is full of hostas and astilbes for late May through July) This is what Parisians do on the weekend! Very un-touristy, but very cool.

Giverny is a half-day trip IF you take the earliest bus you can (even if you are on your honeymoon, wink wink). If you go later in the day, it can be so crowded it takes twice the time to see.

Have a great trip. I'm sure we're all jealous.
dgreen_churchgates_com
22 years ago
Hi Suzanne
It was great having you stay with us -how about a follow up telling everyone about your favourite gardens and experiences in Europe? We have now got a website with some garden and house photos (www.churchgates.com) Its a litle slow to load because I haven't got to grips with all the ins and outs of the web yet! I'm hoping to extend the site to give full details of all the gardens close by and a diary listing so that you can see at a glance which gardens are open on a particular day and also any special events. Should make garden visit planning a lot easier!!

Hope you are both well- and enjoying married life.

David and Joe
Paul_Roberts
22 years ago
For visitors to England there is a site that list private gardens open to the public for charity and also lists accommodation under "links" which may be useful

Here is a link that might be useful: national gardens open for charity
michaelzz
22 years ago
Other than Kew ,,, literally the " Mother of all Gardens" the one that I enjoyed most was in Scotland ,, Its called Logan Gardens and located on the southwest tip of Scotland, about an hour from Glasgow ,,, Located in the northmost end of the Gulf Stream , it's filled with some unusual specimens, including Palms, phormiums, gunnera,eucalyptus, and when i was there in August ,, a magnificent hydrangea hedge that must have been a quater of a mile long, ten feet tall and twenty feet long !!!!

well worth the drive .. michael
susan82
22 years ago
In Paris, if you can, visit Parc de Bagatelle...Jardins
is gorgeous if you like roses!

Susan
mary_rockland
6 years ago
Has anyone been on a booked gardening tour (and perhaps some castles for the hubby) of say, England and France (Giverny)? I'd love to know if there are any companies giving good value for this sort of thing.

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