England: The RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Classic English Gardens 1244

We depart from our pick-up point in London for a visit to RHS Garden Wisley, which is where the Royal Horticultural Society shows the gardening public how it should be done. Here the highest standards of practical horticulture are deployed in the setting of a splendid old site rich in fine trees against a backdrop of other plants, all impeccably labelled.

Today we have our full-day visit to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which holds a rare position as a great British tradition and an exciting source of inspiration and advice. One of the highlights of the show is the collection of over 20 full-sized show gardens. Inside the Great Marquee visitors have their senses ravished by the hundreds of floral displays, many of them incorporating new, rare and unusual plants. Other popular features here include flower arranging, floristry and garden design marquees, courtyard gardens, window boxes and hanging baskets. We later depart for our hotel.

Today we have an early bird visit to for the manicured gardens of Sissinghurst. This famous garden was created by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson from 1930 onwards and became the most admired English Garden of its time.  Few great gardens live up to their reputations so effortlessly as this. Sissinghurst is a large connoisseurs’ garden consisting of a series of small romantic areas enclosed by the surviving parts of an Elizabethan mansion. It never disappoints its visitors, it has the power of enchantment, but it is also an unending source of inspiration for all gardeners. Sissinghurst is surely as close to gardening perfection as you can get, and it continues to be one of the most copies flower gardens in the world.
We continue to another classic English Country Garden – Great Dixter.  The distinguished garden writer Christopher Lloyd (who died in January 2006 at the aged of 84) was the genius behind Great Dixter, with its timbered 15th century house.  Restored by Sir Edwin Lutyens who also planned the garden, Mr Lloyd has firmly put his lively stamp on it.  A recent experiment involved installing a summer tropical garden rich in bold shapes and brilliant colours. No gardener could come to Great Dixter without making discoveries and rekindling a zest for gardening. A guided tour is included.

This morning, we check out of our hotel and head to the gardens of Wilton House, an impressive Palladian mansion near Salisbury. The 17th century garden by Isaac de Caus was removed in 1737 by the ‘Architect Earl’ of Pembroke to create a serpentine park with the first Palladian bridge. Sir William Chambers later designed a casino and eye-catcher in the park and Richard Westmacott designed an ‘Italian garden’ with a terrace and a parterre in the 1820s. Today the water features and rose gardens create a tranquil haven beside the River Nadder.
We later continue to our hotel in the west country for dinner.
 

This morning after breakfast, we head to The Courts Garden a charming garden showing English style. Peaceful water gardens and herbaceous borders, with topiary exhibit creative use of colour and planting. There is also an arboretum filled with wonderful species of tree and naturally planted spring bulbs, the perfect backdrop for a relaxing stroll.
In the afternoon we transfer to the historic city of Bath for some free time. A designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city of Bath has many of the finest architectural sights in Europe such as the Royal Crescent, the Circus and Pulteney Bridge. It houses a variety of museums and attractions including the Roman Baths, Jane Austen Centre and Thermae Bath Spa. You may wish to take the opportunity to do some shopping, visit a museum or experience the properties of the Thermae Bath Spa, where you can relax in two spectacular baths, fed by the natural thermal waters and refresh yourself in a series of aromatic steam rooms (not included).

Today after breakfast we depart for the village of Cannington where we will visit the walled gardens which lie in the grounds of a medieval priory, much of which remains today. The gardens have undergone extensive restoration and were re-opened in 2009. Here we see many features including the Hote Border, Blue Garden, the Sub-tropical Walk, the Winter Garden, the Potage and a Victorian-style fernery. In the botanical glasshouse, sub-tropical and tropical plants can be seen and there are also two smaller gardens within the walls to explore.
Later, we visit the Bishop’s Palace, a stunning mediaeval palace which has been home to the Bishops of Bath and Wells for 800 years, having been founded in the early thirteenth century when Bishop Jocelin Trotman, the first Bishop to hold the title Bishop of Bath and Wells, received a crown licence to build a residence and deer park on land to the south of the Cathedral of St Andrew. Here we will enjoy a special ‘Horticulture at the Palace’ tour on arrival. There are 14 acres of gardens to explore, including the beautiful well pools from which the city takes its name.

This morning, we head to the garden at Stourhead (NT). Temples, urns, a grotto and a wealth of trees all contribute to the special atmosphere of this celebrated landscape garden.  It is, above all, a garden to walk in, following the serpentine path that borders the lake and exploring every detour that presents itself.
In the afternoon we visit Hestercombe, one of Gertrude Jekyll and Sir Edwin Lutyens’ greatest masterpieces. The garden is home to a round pool in a round walled garden filled with wintersweet and roses, a Dutch garden of lamb’s ears, lavender and the most beautiful orangery of the 20th century. Everywhere there are details of design and planting from which any gardener can learn. We enjoy a guided tour here.
Following this visit we return to our drop-off points in London, where the group will disperse or make onward connections.