The Nation’s Favourite Gardens

Above The garden at Coton Manor, a classic, 152a Victoria Rise has English country garden been created from scratch in just five years. won in the Midlands Opposite The gardens at region and, with the Sudeley Castle, basking most votes, also became in spring sunshine. our overall winner. This year, we need you to nominate your favourite National Garden Scheme gardens again, and you can nominate any garden you enjoy or admire. Maybe it’s a hospice garden – there are 21 opening for the Scheme this year, including Horatio’s Gardens at Oswestry, Stoke Mandeville and Stanmore (brand new and designed by Tom Stuart-Smith) as well as the gardens at Maggie’s centres. Or it could be an inspirational small garden full of ideas like 152a Victoria Rise in London, which is a new garden to the Scheme this year, opening on 4 July. Perhaps it’s a grand and stately garden that offers pure escapism, like Sudeley Castle & Gardens in Gloucestershire, which is opening for the Scheme on 6 July. Or a garden that’s been created with wildlife in mind, such as Ready Token House in Gloucestershire, opening its wildlife-friendly formal garden on 28 June.

There are allotments, kitchen gardens, family and dog-friendly gardens, gardens by members of the Society of Garden Designers, cottage gardens and town or urban plots. There are 627 that are new to the Scheme this year, not to mention the thousands of loyal gardens that have opened regularly for many years. Whichever style you prefer and whichever you visit, don’t forget you have until 13 July to nominate your favourites and from these nominations we’ll draw up a shortlist for you to vote for your winner. n

How you can take part

First, we need you to nominate your favourite National Garden Scheme garden to visit. It can be any one of the gardens opening for the Scheme this year and you can be its owner, or simply an admiring visitor.

Next, a panel of judges will review all the nominations and select a shortlist of gardens for each of the six National Garden Scheme regions: Wales and the Marches; North; Midlands; East; South East; and South West. You will then be asked to vote on the shortlist to produce the winners – one for each region and one overall ‘champion’, as well as one overall winner from those gardens that are usually open to the public, but agree to donate their takings from a particular day to the National Garden Scheme.

Every garden that opens for the National Garden Scheme can be found online at ngs.org.uk and they are all listed by county in The Garden Visitor’s Handbook 2021, also known as ‘the yellow book’. Order a copy online at ngs.org.uk/shop

HOW TO NOMINATE AND VOTE

l From now until 13 July, nominate your favourite National Garden Scheme garden at theenglishgarden.co.uk/ngs l A panel of judges will choose a shortlist of gardens for each of the six National Garden Scheme regions. l From 1 August to 30 September, the public will be asked to vote for their favourite shortlisted gardens to produce the winners – one for each region and one overall winner. l The winning gardens will be revealed in late autumn 2021.

Access All Areas

Sisley Garden Tours, sponsor of our Nation’s Favourite Gardens competition, is launching five new Exclusive Escapes, giving garden lovers unrivalled access to the country’s finest gardens

Besides pottering in our own gardens, visiting somebody else’s is one of the greatest joys of being a gardener. Last year, when lockdown closed garden gates and visits were off the cards, those trips out to admire, glean ideas and find inspiration were sorely missed.

Happily, this year, gardens are open again. And if ever there was a year to treat yourself to some extra-special visits, 2021 is it. Sisley Garden Tours has launched five brand-new, four-day breaks that take in some of the country’s finest gardens. Whether you’re considering a holiday in the UK rather than abroad, or you just want to get out and visit some truly exceptional gardens, you’ll find a tour to tempt.

“They’re for people who love gardens but also their luxuries: nice hotels and good

Above Formerly gardened by Vita Sackville-West before she moved to Sissinghurst, Long Barn in Kent is only open by private appointment.

food,” says Colette Walker, who runs Sisley Garden Tours alongside Fran Pride. Fran’s father-in-law Tony Sissons, a garden writer and plantsman, founded the company in 1992 before Fran and Colette took over. Both professionally trained guides, keen travellers and gardeners, Fran and Colette ensure holidays with their small, familyrun company are always friendly, relaxed and personal. Holidaymakers from around the world return again and again to enjoy Sisley’s tailor-made tours, which offer unrivalled access to private gardens.

“The gardens on our tours are predominantly private gardens that very rarely open to the public, if ever,” explains Colette. In fact, many aren’t named for that very reason. Some hold an open day for the National Garden Scheme, or they support local charities, and the money these gardens receive from hosting Sisley’s visitors goes to these good causes.

If you’ve ever yearned to see renowned designer Arne Maynard’s private garden Allt-y-bela, the Exclusive Escape to the Wye Valley (12-15 July) will undoubtedly catch your eye. This tour also includes Wyndcliffe Court, two private gardens designed by the skilled hand of Tom Stuart-Smith, and High Glanau. This gem in Monmouthshire is one of just a few gardens that opened for the National Garden Scheme when it first launched in 1927 and still opens for the Scheme today.

Your base throughout the break is the Tudor Farmhouse Hotel in Clearwell,

Clockwise from left The incredible gardens at Gravetye Manor; exquisite detail at Arne Maynard’s home, Allt-y-bela; Colette Walker and Fran Pride of Sisley Garden Tours; a visit to Highgrove is the highlight of the Exclusive Escape to the Cotswolds.

Study the Classics

Book now for a wonderful garden break in 2022

As well as the Exclusive Escapes for 2021, Sisley Garden Tours also offers its classic range of group tours to gardens across Britain and Ireland, which can be booked now for 2022. These include tours that incorporate Chelsea or Hampton Court Flower Shows, the grand gardens of Ireland and its spectacular coast, or Scotland’s finest castles and gardens. Offering 5-8 nights away, these garden tours are part of an exciting programme that covers the length and breadth of the country, for those wishing to look further ahead. which is typical of the accommodation Sisley provides: beautifully stylish with excellent home-cooked food. “We spend a long time researching our tours,” says Colette. “We go to the hotels, where we look in every single room, and we have long-standing relationships with all the garden owners.” Breakfast and lunch, often at the gardens with their owners, or dinner, are included each day. “Typically, we’ll eat together as a group for two nights, and then people can eat out or at their leisure in the hotel,” Colette explains. Groups are always small, consisting of 8-12 people.

The other four tours feature equally tempting gardens in beautiful parts of the country. On the Exclusive Escape to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (13-17 September), Tresco Abbey Gardens is on the itinerary, alongside private gardens that range from a 700-year-old Cornish estate to a unique cliffside garden that overlooks Lamorna Cove. The highlight of Sisley’s Exclusive Escape to the Cotswolds (6-9 September) is access to the gardens of Highgrove, home of HRH The Prince of Wales, as well as visits to Upton Wold, Aston Pottery and other private gardens.

The Pheasant Hotel in Harome is the base for the four-day Exclusive Escape to the North York Moors (13-16 June), which takes in a private visit to Newby Hall with its famous double borders, Havoc Hall and Mount St John, alongside other private treasures. Finally, there’s the Exclusive Escape to Dorset (5-8 July), where the beautiful countryside that inspired Thomas Hardy is the setting for a break that takes in such gardens as Harvard Farm and a private walled garden designed by Isabel and Julian Bannerman, among others.

Each tour’s itinerary is cleverly arranged to make the most of each location. While the breaks never feel rushed, one beautiful garden opens its gates to you, followed by another – a schedule that would be hard to replicate without Sisley’s behind-the-scenes organisation. “There are some gorgeous gardens on our doorstep, and these special tours offer unrivalled access to them, as well as a relaxing break,” says Fran.

Sisley Garden Tours, tel: 01423 396506; sisley.co.uk

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Another LEVEL

A new book, Petersham Nurseries, traces the development of a business that, with its award-winning café and shop selling chic accessories, turned the concept of the garden centre on its head

The Queen Anne house in Richmond, bought by Gael and Francesco Boglione in 1996, which abuts Petersham Nurseries.