Botanic and Public Gardens

Abbey House Gardens, Malmesbury - Includes gardens in the grounds of The Abbey House, built in the 16th century alongside Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire.

Aberglasney Gardens - In the Towy valley of Carmarthenshire. The history goes back to the 15th century. Information on the history and restoration work; visitor details.

Alnwick Garden Project - The Duchess of Northumberland's dream of transforming a derelict, 12-acre walled garden into the most magnificent garden created anywhere in Europe in the last 100 years.

Ascog Fernery - Discovery and restoration of a 19th-century fernery on the Island of Bute in the Clyde Estuary.

Athelhampton House - A 15th century house. Virtual tours of house and gardens. Information for visitors on facilities, attractions and events.

Barnsdale Gardens - Garden built by Geoff Hamilton in Rutland for BBC TV Gardener's World, including pictures, descriptions of the gardens with forums, tips, news, reviews, links and a competition.

Batsford Arboretum - Information on the collections at this Arboretum in Gloucestershire. Details of the history, conservation activities, and for visitors.

Benmore Botanic Garden - Satellite of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, north of Dunoon. National pinetum and rhododendron collection, with a mild climate and heavy winter rainfall. Open March to October. Information for visitors.

Birkheads Secret Gardens and Nursery - A three acre hillside garden overlooking the Beamish valley, near Newcastle upon Tyne.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses - Among many other features, historic Roman, Medieval and Tudor gardens, a herb garden, the National Bonsai Collection, collections of tropical and desert plants, and an Education Centre. Includes a diary of events.

Birmingham University, Winterbourne Botanic Gardens - Details of the garden, teaching and conservation activity, and a list of events. Houses National Rose Collection. Virtual tour of the gardens.

Blackhills Estate Gardens - History, guide and visitor information to these gardens near Elgin, Scotland.

Bodenham Arboretum and Earth Centre - Housed on a working farm near Kidderminster, Worcestershire. Information on the trees, the farm, and walks. Details for visitors.

Bodnant Garden - About 80 acres of lawns, terraced gardens and a range of plants, above the River Conwy in north Wales with views towards Snowdonia. Information for visitors on opening dates and facilities.

Borde Hill - Sussex botanic garden and park with a very diverse and large collection of trees and shrubs. Pictures; information on visitor facilities and access.

Bowood House and Gardens - Information on the house, the gardens and grounds laid out by Capability Brown, the facilities, attractions, near Chippenham. Visiting details.

Bradenham Hall Gardens - A private Norfolk garden and arboretum open for visitors on selected days. History, information, maps and pictures. Visiting details.

Brantwood - Visitor information and details of 250-acre Lake District estate evolved by John Ruskin as a 'living laboratory' when he lived from there 1872 to 1900.

Bristol University Botanic Garden - Collection of 4,500 species just outside Bristol from across the world, in beds and glasshouses; includes a collection conserving threatened plants native to SW England, and collections of plants used in alternative medicine.

Cambridge University Botanic Garden - Collections of British Native Plants, and Trees. Other gardens include Scented, Woodland, Winter, Rock and Genetic. Glasshouses house the tropical, desert and alpine collections. Education and events programme.

Cascades Gardens - Historic gardens in Derbyshire), featuring a babbling brook, a ruined mill, mature trees, and high cliffs. Photo galleries by season, plant sale and visitor information.

Castle Howard Arboretum Trust - Kew at Castle Howard (North Yorkshire) is an arboretum set in the Howardian Hills containing many rare and endangered trees and shrubs.

Cerney House Gardens - A romantic garden in the Cotswolds. Includes a virtual tour, history, and information about the gardens and their produce.

Chelsea Physic Garden - Founded in 1673 by the Society of Apothecaries; one of Europe's oldest botanic gardens. Important Herb and Medicinal collections, and of Mediterranean plants. Information on history, events and visitor access.

Chesters Walled Garden - A 2-acre 18th Century garden, next to Chesters Roman Fort with views over the Tyne valley. Online tour and description of the herb gardens, borders, and the Roman garden. Includes details for visitors.

Cottesbrooke Hall and Gardens - A Queen Anne House near Northampton with reputed formal and wild gardens open to the public Easter to September. Said to be the pattern for Jane Austin's Mansfield Park.

Court Hey Park - Guide to the educational park in Liverpool which also houses the National Wildflower Centre, Landlife Conservation, and Knowsley Parks and Countryside Service. Events Gallery.

Cranborne Manor Web Site - The 17th century garden is open to the public. History, map and information about the garden, the manor house and its estate.

Dawyck Botanic Gardens, Stobo - Satellite of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, north of Peebles. 300 years sustained planting of native and exotic trees. Open March to October.

Denmans Garden - Garden in West Sussex featuring gravel walks, statuary, and interesting plantings. Information about visiting, the plant centre, and the landscape design services and books of John Brookes.

Dilston Physic Garden - In the Tyne Valley, this garden has over 500 medicinal plants on display. Information about garden, and courses run there.

Drummond Castle Gardens - Formal gardens surrounding an ancient Scottish fortress.

Dundee University Botanic Garden - Collections of plants native to the UK, and collections representative of the world. Information on the garden tour, education, events, and for visitors.

Durham University Botanic Garden - Information and pictures covering glasshouse and outdoor plant collections, art in the garden, walks, a virtual plant gallery, and visitor access and facilities.

E A Bowles Society of Myddleton House - A charitable society set up to further interest in the life and work of plantsman E A Bowles and the conservation of his garden at Myddleton House, Enfield. Information about events and membership.

East Lambrook Manor Gardens - Internationally famous Grade I listed 'cottage garden' designed by the gardening icon, Margery Fish, specialising in rare plants and the National Collection of Geraniums.

Easton Walled Gardens - History and a description of work in progress on 12 acres of lost gardens between Grantham and Stamford. Information on events and opening times for visitors - include photographs.

Eden Project - Biome conservatories with plants from the rainforests and the warm temperate regions of the world. Visitor information including maps and plant guides.

Exbury Gardens - Historic woodland garden established in the New Forest, near Beaulieu, early in this century by Lionel de Rothschild, known for its collection of rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas; site provides history, photos and visitor information.

Finlaystone Country Estate - A large country estate in Renfrewshire near Glasgow, seat of the current Chief of the Clan MacMillan. Information on the gardens, woodlands and history. Visitor details.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden - Includes information about the Yorkshire National Trust site preserving Britain's largest monastic ruin and most complete Cistercian abbey, and photographs of the 18th century water garden.

Friends of the National Pinetum, Bedgebury - A collection of conifers in Kent. Started as a joint project with Kew Gardens. Includes news, events and tour listing, and educational programme.

Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum - Details of the collection, including rare trees, champion trees, and visitor facilities at the country's national arboretum.

Glasgow Botanic Gardens - Twelve glasshouses, with an important collection of tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand. Free admission.

Glenwhan Gardens - Twelve acres of gardens, streams and lochs, open to the public. Licensed tearoom, parking, disabled access. Dunragit near Stranraer, Galloway, Scotland.

Great Comp Garden - Seven-acre garden in Kent open to the public April-November. Description, photos, history, directions.

Groombridge Place Gardens - House and with 17th century gardens near Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Hampton Court Van Kampen Gardens - These gardens in Herefordshire have been restored and opened to the public. Virtual tour of the many gardens and the castle. History and visitor details.

Hannah Peschar Gallery and Sculpture Garden - A painterly 10-acre garden in Surrey, open to the public, with a changing exhibition of modern sculpture. Overview, visitor information.

Harlow Carr Botanical Gardens - Royal Horticultural Society Gardens outside Harrogate, N Yorkshire. National collections of rhubarb, ferns, fuchsia and heathers. Education programme, and special interest groups. Plant trials of benefit to gardeners in the North of England.

Hawkstone Park and Follies - 100 acres of Shropshire parkland on rolling hills, featuring a collection of grottos, streams and architectural oddities. Grade I listed landscape.

Headland Garden - A Cornish coastal garden, situated on the River Fowey estuary. Pictures, with details of opening times and access, and information on charities supported.

Helmingham Hall - Garden and deer park set around moated Tudor hall near Stowmarket, Suffolk, featuring double herbaceous borders, working kitchen garden, many roses and herb and knot garden.

Hergest Croft Gardens - Arboretum and gardens in Kington, Herefordshire. Information on the history and the different parts of the garden, planted and worked by three generations of the same family.

Hergest Croft Gardens - Estate garden in Kington (Herefordshire) focusing on rare shrubs and trees. Brief overview and visitor information.

Hestercombe Gardens - Gardens in Somerset, location of the lost secret landscape garden, built in the 18th century and recently restored to its former glory. Virtual tour, history, and visitor information.

Hodsock Priory Gardens - A fine display of snowdrops in February on this estate in Nottinghamshire. Information about the estate and its history, and visitor details.

Holbrook Garden - Devon garden open late March to mid October with many innovative plantings.

Inverness Floral Hall - Subtropical Garden and Visitor Centre in Bught Park, Inverness; also a Cactus House, demonstration gardens and nursery. Opening and access details.

Kerrachar Gardens - Set in the Parish of Assynt in the North West Highlands, this garden has been developed on the site of a derelict croft. Photographs and visitor information - NB accessible only by boat.

Kiftsgate Court Gardens - Information, plant list, maps and general garden and gardening topics. The gardens have been developed by three generations of women in Gloucestershire. Home to Rosa filipes Kiftsgate, the largest rose in England.

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens - Large estate in England, open to the public. A guide to the attractions arranged by season, and brief photographic tours of some garden areas.

Levens Hall and Topiary Gardens - Elizabethan house and gardens in the Lake District. Visitor information on the house and its attractions.

Logan Botanic Garden, Port Logan - Satellite of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, in Galloway. Landscaped displays benefit from the Gulf Stream, and support research and conservation (especially rhododendrons and conifers). Open March to October. Includes information for visitors.

Lost Gardens of Heligan  - Official site offers a multi-lingual overview, with information, pictures and many design elements

Luggers Hall - Photographic tour of expansive garden in the Cotswolds. The style is mostly formal, with topiary, koi pond, and box parterres.

Marwood Hill Gardens - Set in the rolling hills of North Devon, this garden features large collections of camellias, astilbes, tulbaghias and Japanese irises within a park-like setting with ponds and streams.

Merriments Gardens - This colorful garden in East Sussex is a showcase for the nursery that it accompanies. Visitor information, photos.

Mount Ephraim Garden - An Edwardian garden and Victorian mansion near Faversham, Kent open to the public.

National Botanic Garden of Wales - Opened in May 2000, in Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire. The project includes the Great Glasshouse, restoring 18th century formal gardens, woodland, species-rich grassland, and developing a demonstration organic farm.

Ness Botanic Gardens - Part of the University of Liverpool. Virtual tour, history, general information, and list of events.

Nine Springs Country Park - The history, flora and fauna of a 19th century private garden in Yeovil, Somerset, with an account of its restoration.

Nymans Garden - National Trust garden in West Sussex, famous for its collection of rare plants, includes summer borders, a pinetum, and ruins of the house. Visitor information and overview map.

Painshill Park - Landscape park of the 18th century in Surrey. Its history and restoration, educational and cultural events, and visitor information.

Painswick Rococo Garden - Introduction to this garden in the Cotswolds and its follies. Pictures, history and visitor information.

Palm House Botanic Gardens, Belfast - One of the earliest examples of a curvilinear and cast iron glasshouse, built for Belfast Botanical and Horticultural Society in the 1830s.

Parcevall Hall Gardens - In Appletreewick near Skipton. Pictures, map of the estate, and information for those who wish to visit.

Pencarrow House and Historic Gardens - Famous Georgian house still owned and lived in by the Molesworth-St Aubyn family, near Wadebridge, Cornwall. 50 acres of formal and woodland gardens. Visitor information.

Pine Lodge Gardens - 30-acre estate at Cuddra, near St Austell, Cornwall, which consists of a number of different gardens and houses the national collection of grevillea; open to the public at selected times.

RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) - Information on RHS gardens (Harlow Carr in Yorkshire, Hyde Hall in Essex, Rosemoor in Devon, and Wisley in Surrey) with links to other gardens to visit.

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - Founded in the 17th century, RBGE now has one of the world's largest collections of living plants, and of preserved specimens. Information on main garden at Inverleith, visitor access and facilities, and activities in research and education. Searchable databases.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - Overview of the gardens, collections, conservation and research activities of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Information on tours, trails and the education programme.

Ryton Organic Gardens - The gardens of HDRA, the organic organisation. Visitor information for the 32 individual gardens.

Savill Garden, Windsor - Tranquil 35-acre garden, part of the Crown Estate. History of the garden and its development, events listing, and seasonal highlights in photographs. Details of admission and facilities.

Sheffield Botanical Gardens - Focus on progress in restoring the botanical and horticultural collections, the landscape and the buildings. Also covers the history of the gardens, their two national collections, plant of the month, visitor access, and includes a virtual tour.

Shrubland Park - A Italianate garden in Suffolk. Visitor information and brief history.

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum - Diverse collection of hardy trees and shrubs from around the world, started by the late Sir Harold Hillier in 1953 and now covering 180 acres, in Romsey, Hampshire. Open to the Public.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent - Visiting photographer presents pages with descriptions and photographs, accessible by text links and through a clickable map.

Spetchley Park and Gardens - Victorian garden in Worcestershire with woodland and herbaceous plants, some rare. Gardens with designs varying from formal to exuberant. Visitor information, news and events.

St Andrews Botanic Garden - A wee gem of a garden in East Scotland, with many plant collections, glasshouses and displays. Information about the garden, events, school programs, and plant of the month.

Sutton Park - Virtual tour and information about Georgian home, gardens and woodland park of Sir Reginald and Lady Sheffield near York, its opening times and tours.

Swansea Botanical Complex - Describes the Clyne Gardens, and the Botanic Gardens, and information about access and events.

The Cruickshank Botanic Garden - Part of Conoco Natural History Centre, which supports teaching and study of botany in Aberdeen University, and is also open to the public. Collection of 2,500 plants recently catalogued.

The Dorothy Clive Garden - Intimate and formal garden in North Staffordshire with a variety of landscape features, including a woodland garden, an alpine scree, a damp garden and summer flower borders, with information about location, opening hours and admission.

The Hidden Gardens and Grottoes of Dewstow - Offers discovery and renovation of gardens containing an underground network of tunnels, caves and grottos. Located in Monmouthshire, South Wales.

The National Memorial Arboretum - A living tribute to the war-time generations of the twentieth century in Staffordshire. Includes information on events and visitor facilities.

The Plantation Garden - Created in Norwich by Henry Trevor, Victorian philanthropist, currently being restored by the Plantation Garden Preservation Trust.

Thorp Perrow Arboretum - Collection of almost 1,500 trees and shrubs from across the world. Three national plant collections are held in the arboretum (lime, walnut and ash). Also houses the Falconry of Thorp Perrow. Events calendar.

Trebah Gardens - A wild sub-tropical ravine by the Helford River in Cornwall. Information and photographs of the gardens, events and art activities. Visitor details.

Trewithen Garden, Cornwall - Early Georgian house - its name means "House of the Trees". Information on the gardens and their history, map. Details of nurseries and of visitor facilities.

University of Leicester Botanic Garden - Brief details of the gardens, arboretum, and their education programme.

University of Oxford Botanic Garden - The oldest botanic garden in Britain, includes glasshouses, a walled garden, and an arboretum.

University of Wales Aberystwyth Botany Gardens - Tropical Glasshouse housing a collection of exotic ferns, cycads and angiosperms.

Ventnor Botanic Gardens - Gardens commenced in 1970 on the Isle of Wight with a variety of temperate, sub-tropical and exotic plants, shrubs and trees; provides information about the gardens and their maintenance.

Wakehurst Place - This West Sussex garden is a satellite of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, housing the Millennium Seed Bank, and the national collection of birch trees; offers a range of trails and tours, and a guide to seasonal attractions.

Walsall Arboretum - Follow the progress of restoring this Public Park in Walsall to its former glories. Description, history, and plans for development. This site uses Flash extensively

Waterperry Gardens - Near Oxford, with a Saxon Church and gardens made famous in the 1930's by Beatrix Havergal. Information and pictures of the gardens, the art gallery. Visitor and facility details.

West Green House Gardens - Located in Hampshire, these gardens were restored by garden writer Marylyn Abbott. Visitor information, garden talks and events.

Winsford Walled Garden - A restored Victorian walled garden in Devon; open to the public in summer. Information about the history, restoration, design and plantings.