Considered to be one of the more off-the-beaten-track options the area has to offer, Kiftsgate Court Gardens is the culmination of work by three generations of women. Created in the 1920s by Heather Muir, the gardens consist of a bluebell wood, a water garden and the now famous Kiftsgate Rose, which has been known to reach 80 feet in height.
• Ticket prices are £8 (Dh47) for adults and £2.50 (Dh15) for children under 16. Opening in July from Saturday to Wednesday, 12 to 6pm; August from Saturday to Wednesday, 2 until 6pm. For other months, visit www.kiftsgate.co.uk
The National Trust’s Hidcote Manor Garden is an arts and crafts garden created by Major Lawrence Johnston, who moved to the UK with his American mother around 1900, and became a British citizen. The gardens are split into themed rooms with the spaces cleverly separated by hedges, coniferous trees and shrubs and stone walls. An audio guide is available to tell the stories behind the gardens.
• Ticket prices from £10.45 (Dh61) for adults and £5.22 (Dh30) for children. Open in July, August and September, seven days a week, 10am to 6pm. For other months, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote
Buscot Park is the home of Lord Faringdon, who moved to the property in 1977, after the death of his uncle Gavin Faringdon, who raised him. The gardens, surrounding the late-18th-century house, include an ornamental Four Seasons Walled Garden, and an early 20th-century Peto Water Garden with stairways, basins, paths and canals designed by Harold Peto.
• Ticket prices from £7 (Dh40) for adults, £5 (Dh30) for those over 65 and £3.50 for children between 5 and 15. Children under 5 are free. Open in July, August and September every weekday and alternate weekends from 2pm until 6pm. Visit www.buscot-park.com
The gardens of Kelmscott Manor were restored to their current state by the Society of Antiquaries of London in the mid-1990s, after falling into disrepair. The house was originally owned by the designer and writer William Morris, whose designs were closely followed for the garden restoration. Most of the beds are filled with cottage garden plants. There is also a mulberry and tulip garden, and an apple and plum orchard.
• Open until October 31, every Wednesday and Saturday from 11am until 5pm. Visit www.sal.org.uk/kelmscott-manor
The grounds of the 17th-century Lodge Park and Sherborne Estate would better suit the rambling sort of gardener. The estate is home to three main walking routes – the short stroll through the woodland, a family fun walk and a historic farmland hike. There are woodland statues, daffodils, snowdrops and crocuses aplenty.
• Ticket prices from £5.75 (Dh36) for adults and £3.15 (Dh18) for children. Check www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lodge-park-and-sherborne-estate for opening times
The 2,000 acres of parkland at Blenheim Palace, home to the 12th Duke of Marlborough, were landscaped by Capability Brown, who died in 1783 and was considered one of England’s greatest gardeners. In June, the palace opened the Churchill Memorial Garden to mark the 50th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill’s death. It includes a 90-metre winding granite path, a metre for each year of his life.
• Ticket prices from £13.50 (Dh79) for adults and £6.60 (Dh38) for children. The park is open daily (except December 25) from 9am until 6pm. The formal gardens and pleasure gardens are open from 10am until 5.30pm. Visit www.blenheimpalace.com
Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, is one of the country’s most important gardens devoted to trees. It features 15,000 specimens from around the world and is operated by the Forestry Commission England. There are a number of organised activities, and visitors can also download free activity packs and trail guides to venture out on their own.
• Open every day (except December 25), from 9am until 5pm. Visit www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt
The Anne Hathaway Cottage and Gardens, where William Shakespeare courted his bride, is a great example of traditional Tudor planting, filled with colourful and fragrant blooms and shrubs. There are also large, modern willow sculptures, conservation borders created to attract butterflies and a heart-shaped lavender maze. The Shakespeare Arboretum and Sculpture trail also features many of the plants in his writings.
• Ticket prices from £9.50 (Dh54) for adults and £5.50 (Dh31) for children. Open until November 1 from 9am until 5pm, and from November 2 until March 13 from 10am until 4pm. Visit www.shakespeare.org.uk
The “secret” garden at Cerney House, built around 1660, is worth a visit in any season. Tulips and daffodils provide a pop of colour in summer, and in the winter months snowdrops line the woodland trail. The garden is still a working garden, with separate areas dedicated to herbs and vegetables.
• Ticket prices from £5 (Dh29) for adults and £1 (Dh6) for children. Open every day until the end of November. Closed in December. Visit www.cerneygardens.com
Kitty Lloyd Jones, the daughter of a Welsh doctor, transformed the gardens at Upton House after becoming one of England’s first women to take a university degree in horticulture. She was commissioned in the 1930s by the owner of the house, Lady Bearstead, to make the grounds a more leisurely setting. The highlight of the garden today is the Bog Garden, in the grounds of Bog Cottage, the home of the original head gardener. The garden relies on the natural spring in one corner to feed the streams running through the site.
• Ticket prices from £4.70 (Dh27) for adults and £2.35 (Dh13) for children. Open until October, from Saturday to Wednesday, from 11am until 5pm. Open daily in August, and weekends in November to mid-December, between 12pm and 4pm. Visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/upton-house
