Great daffodil gardens to visit this spring

If you’re a lover of all things bright and beautiful then there’s no better place to look than National Garden Scheme gardens full of daffodils for those wonderful golden moments this spring. While many of our gardens have daffodils spotted among their pretty borders there are a few where daffodils create the dramatic focus. We even open the garden at the family home of poet William Wordsworth who immortalised the daffodil in his lyric poem I wandered lonely as a cloud. Here’s a selection of some of the best daffodil gardens to visit this year…

Lower Bowden Manor, Berkshire – opens only By Arrangement from 13 January to 5 December for groups of between 6 and 50. Book in to enjoy the delights of this seven acre designer’s garden with stunning views all to yourself! Specimen trees show contrasting bark and foliage. A marble ‘Pan’ plays to a pond with boulders and boulder shaped evergreens. Click here for details.

Rydal Mount and Gardens, Cumbria. What could be more fitting than to visit the family home of William Wordsworth when the hosts of golden daffodils are out. Wordsworth considered himself as good a landscape gardener as a poet, and the Rydal Mount garden is the largest example of his design. Opens on dates in March, April and June. Click here for details.

Chevin Brae, Derbyshire. This large garden has swathes of daffodils in the orchard during spring. Extensive wildflower planting along the woodland edge features aconites, snowdrops, wood anemones, fritillaries and dog tooth violets. Opens on 22 March and 16 August. Click here for details.

Kemble House, Gloucestershire is a landscaped garden with many tall lime trees. Herbaceous borders line the lawns. The main one in front of the house is a grass tennis court that was laid in the 1880s. Opens 24 April and By Arrangement 6 March to May for groups or a bespoke visit. Click here for details.

Rock House, Gloucestershire is a two acre garden with woodland vistas with swathes of snowdrops and carpets of daffodils, some unusual. Spring flowers, cottage garden plants and climbing roses in season. Old yew tree, maturing cedar tree, pond. A lovely space to explore! Opens 2 February, 9 and 16 March, 1 and 8 June. Click here for details.

Bryngwyn Manor, Gwent is a relaxed three acre garden featuring snowdrops, daffodil walk, mature trees, walled parterre garden, mixed borders, lawns, ponds and shrubbery. Enjoy a family friendly afternoon out, with children’s activities, loads of space to run about, and scrumptious teas. Opens 1 February  and 30 March – pre-booking essential. Click here for details.

Beechenwood Farm, Hampshire has been opening for over 40 years. It’s a lovely two acre garden with many parts. Lawn meandering through woodland with drifts of spring bulbs. Rose pergola with steps, pots with spring bulbs and later aeoniums. Fritillary and cowslip meadow and more! Opens 21 April and 26 May. Click here for details.

Lepe House Garderns, Hampshire is a 12 acre spring woodland garden that was laid out in 1893. An embarkation point for D-Day, the lighthouse in the garden now marks the entrance to the Beaulieu River. Distinct areas include a walled garden with camellias, coastal walk overlooking the Solent, woodland with mature magnolias and rhododendrons, arboretum with drifts of spring bulbs, wildlife ponds plus formal areas with a wishing well. Opens 13 April and By Arrangement from 16 April to 27 June for groups of between 15 and 30. Click here for details.

Moors Meadow Gardens, Herefordshire is a multi award winning, inspirational seven acre organic hillside garden with a vast amount of species, many rarely seen; emphasis on working with nature, a real wildlife haven. Intriguing features and sculptures, a delight for the garden novice as well as the serious plantsman. Wander through fernery, grass garden, extensive shrubberies, herbaceous beds, meadow, dingle, pools and kitchen garden. Opens Monday’s 24 March, 14 April, 19 May, 16 June, 14 July and 4 August. Click here for details.

Alswick Hall, Hertfordshire is a listed Tudor House with five acres of landscaped gardens set in unspoiled farmland. Two well established natural ponds with rockeries. Herbaceous borders, shrubs, woodland walk and wildflower meadow with a fantastic selection of daffodils, tulips, Camassias and crown imperials. Opens 13 April. Click here for details.

St Paul’s Walden Bury, Hertfordshire is a spectacular formal woodland garden, Grade I listed, laid out in 1720 and covering over 50 acres. Long rides lined with beech hedges lead to temples, statues, lake and a terraced theatre. Seasonal displays of daffodils, camelias, irises, magnolias, rhododendrons, lilies. This was the childhood home of the late Queen Mother. Opens 6 April, 11 May and 8 June. Click here for details.

Walkern Hall, Hertfordshire is essentially a winter woodland garden. Set in eight acres, the carpet of snowdrops and aconites is a constant source of wonder in Jan-Feb. This medieval hunting park is known more for its established trees such as the tulip trees and a magnificent London plane tree which dominates the garden. Following on in March and April is a stunning display of daffodils and other spring bulbs. Opens 1 and 2 February, 22 and 23 March. Click here for details.

Waterend House, Hertfordshire is a hidden garden of four acres sets off an elegant Jacobean Manor House (not open). Steep grass slopes and fine views of glorious countryside. Large quantities of spring bulbs, and formal beds and lots of colour throughout the year. Mature specimen trees, ponds, formal vegetable garden and chickens. Opens By Arrangement from 10 February to 20 October for groups of between 20 and 25. Click here for details. 

Mount Ephraim Gardens, Kent is a privately-owned family home set in 10 acres of terraced Edwardian gardens with stunning views over the Kent countryside with fabulous spring bulbs. Opens 30 March, 12 June and 25 September. Click here for details.

Godinton House & Gardens, Kent is of a predominantly Sir Reginald Blomfield’s design of 1896, with 12 acres of tranquil gardens surrounding Godinton House enclosed by a vast yew hedge and showcase features added by different owners over time. The gardens includes terraced lawns, herbaceous borders, a rose garden, ponds, large walled garden, a wild garden and the Italian garden and glasshouses. Opens 19 April, 10 May, 13 June, 19 September. Click here for details.

Burghley House Private South Gardens, Lincolnshire open for the National Garden Scheme with spectacular spring bulbs in a park like setting with magnificent trees. Relish the opportunity to enjoy Capability Brown’s famous lake and summerhouse. Opens 5 and 6 April, pre-booking essential. Click here for details.

Brook Hall Estate & Gardens, County Londonderry is a C18 demesne, home to one of the finest private arboretums in the north west of Ireland with a unique collections of conifers, rhododendrons, magnolias and camellias. The C17 walled garden on the edge of the River Foyle once used to feed the people of the City of Derry, now home to many of the gardens magnolia and camellia collections. Opens 12 and 13 April. Click here for details. 

Holdenby House & Gardens, Northamptonshire has an historic Grade I listed garden. The inner garden includes Rosemary Verey’s renowned Elizabethan Garden and Rupert Golby’s Pond Garden and long borders. There is also a delightful walled kitchen garden. Away from the formal gardens, the terraces of the original Elizabethan Garden are still visible, one of the best preserved examples of their kind. Opens 27 April. Click here for details.

Bolham Manor, Nottinghamshire is a three acre mature garden providing year-round interest. In February, swathes of snowdrops greet you, followed by daffodils and other spring bulbs. Topiary features and sculptures guide you through the different areas of the garden, with its mixed planted terraces and herbaceous borders, ponds, orchard and wildflower areas. Opens By Arrangement visits from 11 February to 21 September for groups of up to 30. Click here for details.

Stonewall Park, Kent has vast amounts of C19 self-seeded daffodils which lead down to a romantic woodland garden in an historic setting, featuring species such as rhododendrons, magnolias and azaleas. In May, bluebells take over the daffodils in abundance. Winding, mossy paths lead you to a range of interesting trees, sandstone outcrops and lakes. Opens 23 March and 4 May. Click here for details. 

Llysdinam, Powys – gardens that are among the loveliest in mid Wales, especially noted for a magnificent display of rhododendrons and azaleas in May. Covering some six acres, they command sweeping views down the Wye Valley. Opens 25 May and By Arrangement in daffodil season. Click here for details. 

Fairfield , Somerset is a woodland garden with many interesting bulbs including naturalised anemones, fritillaria with roses, shrubs and fine trees and a paved maze. Opens 13 April. Click here for details. 

Albury Park, Surrey is a 14 acre pleasure ground laid out in 1670’s by John Evelyn for Henry Howard, later 6th Duke of Norfolk. ¼m of terraces, fine collection of trees, lake and river and wonderful daffodils in spring. Opens 16 March and 5 October. Click here for details. 

Bates Green Garden, East Sussex. This plantswoman’s tranquil garden provides interest through the seasons. Woodland garden created around a majestic oak tree. Colour themed middle garden. Courtyard gardens with seasonal container displays. Front garden a spring and autumn joy with narcissi, primroses, violets then coloured stems and leaves of cornus and salix. Opens 9 March and 5 October. Click here for details.

Penns in the Rocks, East Sussex is a large garden with a spectacular outcrop of rocks, 140 million years old. Lake, C18 temple and woods along with daffodils, bluebells, azaleas, magnolia and tulips make this a delightful garden to visit. Opens 13 April, 11 May and 3 August. Click here for details.

Fonthill House, Wiltshire provides wonderful woodland walks with daffodils, rhododendrons, azaleas, shrubs and bulbs. Magnificent views and formal gardens. The gardens have been extensively redeveloped under the direction of Tania Compton and Marie-Louise Agius. Opens 23 March. Click here for details. 

Spetchley Park Gardens, Worcestershire. Surrounded by glorious countryside lays one of Britain’s best kept secrets. Spetchley is a garden for all tastes and ages, containing one of the biggest private collections of plant varieties outside the major botanical gardens and weaving a magical trail for younger visitors. Spetchley is not a formal paradise of neatly manicured lawns or beds but rather a wondrous display of plants, shrubs and trees woven into a garden of many rooms and vistas. Opens 6 April and 6 July. Click here for details. 

Ellerker House, North Yorkshire is a five acre garden of plant lovers’ delight. Planted for all seasons with colour themed borders and many fine old trees. Daffodils, spring bulbs and alpines in stumpery around lake. Woodland walk of bluebells. Thatched oak hut and intimate seating. Shady borders planted with shrubs, ferns and hostas. Opens 6 April. Click here for details.

Goldsborough Hall, Yorkshire is an historic 12 acre garden and formal landscaped grounds in a parkland setting around a Grade II*, C17 house, former residence of HRH Princess Mary, daughter of George V and Queen Mary. There’s Gertrude Jekyll inspired 120ft double herbaceous borders, rose garden and woodland walk. Large restored kitchen garden with rill, fountain and large glasshouse which produces fruit and vegetables for the Hall’s commercial kitchens. Opens 23 March and 22 June. Click here for details. 

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