Visit some of the gardens from Monty Don’s ‘British Gardens’ this year
If you’ve been enchanted by Monty’s garden visits on his new British Gardens series on BBC 2 why not follow in his footsteps to these wonderful gardens opening for the National Garden Scheme this year.
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- Lamport Hall & Gardens
Lamport Hall & Gardens, Northampton opens Saturday 26 July
Home of the Isham family for over 400 yrs, the extensive herbaceous borders complement the Elizabethan bowling lawns, together with topiary from the 1700s. The 2 acre walled garden is full of colour, with 250 rows of perennials. Another highlight is the famous Lamport rockery, among the earliest in England, which was extensively refurbished in 2024.
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- Beth Chatto’s Plants & Garden
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- Arundel & Elgin Gardens
Beth Chatto’s Plants & Garden, Essex – opens Saturday 1 May and Wednesday 1 October
These internationally famous gardens, include dry, damp, shade, reservoir and woodland areas. The result of over 60 years of hard work and application of the huge body of plant knowledge possessed by Beth Chatto and her husband Andrew.
Arundel & Elgin Gardens, Notting Hill – opens on Sunday 18 May
Visit this friendly and informal garden square. One of the best preserved gardens of the Ladbroke Estate with mature and rare trees, plants and shrubs laid out according to the original Victorian design of 1862. The central hedged garden is an oasis of tranquility.
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- Balmoral Cottage
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- West Lavington Manor
West Lavington Manor, Wiltshire – opens Saturday 7 June and By Arrangement
A 15th Century manor house with a spectacular 5 acre walled garden, established by Sir John Danvers, who brought the Italianate garden to the UK. Delights include a Laburnum walk, replanted herbaceous border, and authentic Japanese garden.
Balmoral Cottage, Kent – opens Sundays 6 and 20 April, 4 May and 5 October
Created and maintained by garden owner Charlotte Molesworth the garden at Balmoral Cottage is now 40 years mature. Varied, romantic and extensive topiary form the backbone for mixed borders, with a vegetable garden, all organically managed.
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- Knepp Castle
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- The Newt
Knepp Castle, West Sussex – opens Saturday 21 June – pre-booking essential
The Walled Garden at Knepp has been transformed into a garden for biodiversity. With designers Tom Stuart-Smith and James Hitchmough, rewilding principles have been applied to this small, confined space to create a mosaic of dynamic habitats for wildlife.
The Newt, Somerset – opens Tuesday 9 September – pre-booking essential
A limited number of tickets are available for this special one-day event, kindly hosted by The Newt. It includes a talk from one of our lead gardeners, on the gardens and more recent developments, including the newest element, The Four Seasons Garden.
To book tickets for In Conversation with Monty Don on Thursday 20 February at the Royal Geographical Society CLICK HERE
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- Monty Don at the National Garden Scheme show garden at RHS Chelsea in 2024
