Art in our gardens this year

Lead image: 100 Knollys Road, Streatham © Max A Rush

Gardening is a creative pursuit so it’s little surprise that many National Garden Scheme gardens are owned by painters, sculptures, designers and ceramicists. Some display and sell their work, some allow access to their studio’s, other garden owners host art exhibitions or have displays of sculpture adding interest to their planting – each gives a unique flavour to the garden visiting experience. Here are a few to explore in 2026. 

Annalal’s Gallery, Dorset is a garden owned by two Royal Academy artists. The working studio is camouflaged with clematis and honeysuckle. Hidden amongst the plants are sculptures and the old walls are hung with paintings. Entrance is through the cottage studio/conservatory where everything is handmade and sculptured by the owners. Some works are for sale.  Opens, 23 August, 13 September and 6 December. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

40 Chartfield Avenue, Putney  Famous for its Mediterranean feel, this layered garden features clipped hedges, topiary, and pleached hornbeam on the terrace, contrasting with a riot of grasses and perennials around the main circular pathway. Tumbling climbers cover pergolas, with vast borders and shady seating areas.This garden opens for By Arrangement visits from April to November and art clubs & groups of artists are welcome. Please contact the garden owner to discuss your requirements and arrange a date for a group or bespoke visit. For details see: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme

Chippins, Essex is an artist’s garden and plantaholics’ paradise offering surprises around every corner. In the shared etching workshop /greenhouse owner, Kit has a small exhibition space with large etching press and welcomes visitors to have a look around. Opens By Arrangement. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

38 The Clump, Hertfordshire is a plantsman’s garden with a range of unusual trees and shrubs with five distinct areas including modern sculptures to enjoy. Opens By Arrangement May to September. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

4 Clyngwyn Road, Glamorgan is a garden is situated below the former coal tip of the Tir Bach mine which is known locally as ‘The Patches’. It has grown out of the need to develop a space to have privacy and peace after working shifts as nurses.
The owner is also an artist achieving a Masters in Fine Art in 2021 and the garden is as much a part of their artistic vision as their visual output and there is now a small garden studio. Opens 16 August. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

100 Colne Road, Twickenham is an enchanting first floor roof garden above 1850s workers cottage with converted 1950s studios, and owner’s artist workshops to the rear. Full of artist expression and clever design, there is access via wide spiral staircase to sheltered garden 9 x 8 metres, intensively planted and fully containerised. Trees, shrubs, climbers, subtle annual perennial plant combinations and new 7 x 10 metre rear extensive roof area with biodiverse mix of sedums and wild flowers. Opens By Arrangement. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

Farrs, Dorset is home to award-winning British furniture designer John Makepeace and wife Jennie. Enjoy several distinctive walled gardens, rolling lawns, sculpture and giant topiary around one of Beaminster’s historic town houses. John’s inspirational grass garden and Jennie’s very contrasting garden with an oak fruit cage and a riot of colour. There’s a glasshouse, straw bale studio and orchard, remarkable trees, planked and seasoning in open sided barn for future furniture commissions. Opens 20 August. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

Glasfryn Hall, Flintshire is home to Oriel Glasfryn Gallery, featuring work by leading Welsh artists and for the the first time this year’s open gardens will co-incide with its summer exhibition meaning that both the house and main gallery will be open, displaying the work of more than 40 leading Welsh artists, including painters, ceramicists, jewellers and sculptors. Opens 29, 30 and 31 August. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

Hill Farm, Cheshire extends to approx ½ acre and is made up of a series of gardens inc a formal courtyard with a pond and vegetable garden with south facing wall. An orchard and wildflower meadow were established about 6 years ago. A principal feature is a woodland garden which supports a rich variety of woodland plants. In 2023 the owners opened a small art gallery featuring work by local Cheshire artists. This is open throughout the year Friday to Sunday 11.00 to 4.00. Opens By Arrangement. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

Kestle Barton, Helston, Cornwall is a delightful garden near Frenchman’s Creek, on the Lizard, which is the setting for Kestle Barton Gallery; wildflower meadow, Cornish orchard with named varieties and a formal garden with prairie planting in blocks by James Alexander Sinclair. It is a riot of colour in summer and continues to delight well into late summer. Opens on dates in August and September. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

Mansion Cottage, Bridlington, Yorkshire is a truly hidden, private and secret garden with exuberant, packed, vibrant borders. Visitors’ book says ‘a veritable oasis’, ‘the garden is inspirational’, with a surprise around every corner. Produce stalls and soaps are always a great attraction too, all hand made here at Mansion Cottage. Opens 8 and 9 August and By Arrangement. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

Newton Cottage, Dorset has sunny gravel gardens, a large informal lawn and woodland trees complementing the views of fields and pastures. Familiar plants are used in a naturalistic style with carefully edited self-seeding invaders. It’s visited by a wide variety of wildlife, not all beneficial! This is the inspiration for owner Pamela’s artwork which will be on display in the studio along with a selection of Gethyn’s paintings. Opens By Arrangement. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth – enjoy a private garden tour of this sub-tropical garden sited on the cliff top, overlooking the sea, full of a wide variety of plants from around the globe. East Cliff Hall was the home of Sir Merton and Lady Annie Russell-Cotes. The garden was restored allowing for modern access with areas retaining the original 1901 design conceived by the founders, such as the ivy clad grotto and Japanese influence. Opens By Arrangement April – October. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

5 St Regis Close, Muswell Hill, London. Cornucopia of sensual delights. Artist’s garden famous for architectural features and delicious cakes. Baroque temple, pagodas, Raku tiled mirrored wall conceals plant nursery. American Gothic shed overlooks Liberace terrace and stairway to heaven. Maureen Lipman’s favourite garden; combines colour, humour, trompe l’oeil with wildlife friendly ponds, waterfalls, weeping willow, lawns and abundant planting. Mega plant sale and open studio with ceramics and cards. A unique experience awaits! Opens By Arrangement. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme 

Standerwick Court A hidden gem near the Somerset/Wilts border. With far-reaching views over the White Horse and Cley Hill lies a stunning Queen Anne House nestled in 76 acres of parkland. Ha-ha and woodland partially surround the formal gardens recently redesigned by Mark Lutyens and Catherine Fitzgerald to include an Italian inspired terrace, walled garden with tiki hut, tennis court, greenhouse and pool garden. In The Woolhouse, an old renovated building within the garden, there will be an exhibition by two local artists. Harley Lyons, a 2026 graduate of Central Saint Martins in London and Phoebe Rose, who graduated from Bath School of Art in 2023. Working across interior textiles, drawing, printmaking and painting, both artists will be showcasing a collection of original artworks and prints, which are available to buy (percentage of sales to the National Garden Scheme) Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme

Stoberry Garden, Somerset – SEPTEMBER. Alongside its beautifully designed garden, Stoberry hosts Beyond Horizons, a contemporary sculpture exhibition set naturally within the landscape. Over 60 sculptures, carefully curated and thoughtfully placed, unfold through the garden, offering moments of discovery that complement the planting, views, and sense of space. For a list of sculptors,  visit our website www.stoberrybeyondhorizons.co.uk

Tattykeel House Garden, County Tyrone – ‘borders brimming with blossom and lush planting are seamlessly offset by sweeps of well-tended lawn in the carefully choreographed garden at Tattykeel House’ as described by Conrad McCormick (Irish Garden Magazine Aug 2024 ). The garden features in ‘The Open Gardens of Ireland’ by Shirley Lanigan. The 1½ acres including sheltered seating areas, a Japanese inspired area, and many climbers. Owner Mrs Ward is both a Fine Art and Textile artist, and visitors are welcome to visit her studio. Opens By Arrangement May – August. Click here for details: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme