Around the world in six gardens
You don’t need to pack your passport to see exotic plant collections and garden design styles from around the world. Let an RHS Partner Garden take you to a remote Himalayan hillside, a South African plain or a Renaissance-style terrace – all without leaving the country.
Enjoy a taste of sunnier climes at Knoll Gardens in Dorset, home to a wide collection of Eucalyptus and many other Australasian trees and shrubs. The site’s comparatively low rainfall and sandy soil enable the eucalypts to thrive – look for Eucalyptus chapmaniana, one of the tallest trees in the garden, with beautiful flaking bark.
Abriachan Gardens on the shores of Loch Ness is a good place to see South African plants such as Osteospermum, jewel-like gazanias and Diascia. In summer there are showy displays from a wide range of dieramas, agapanthus and dramatic red hot pokers, or visit later in the season for crackling crocosmias, nerines and satin-petalled Schizostylis which glow in the low autumn sunlight.
For Mediterranean garden design, look no further than the Italian Garden at Compton Acres in Dorset. All the essential elements of a classic Italian garden are here: symmetrical design, formal urns and balustrades, Italian statuary and even a villa. The centerpiece is a pool complete with fountain, and in season you can enjoy graceful swags of Clematis ‘Elizabeth’ and bright displays of begonias.
A trip to the Pompeian Garden at Dyffryn Gardens near Cardiff will transport you to another continent and another time: it is based on excavated gardens that owner Reginald Cory and designer Thomas Mawson saw when they visited Pompeii for design inspiration. The garden evokes the classical architecture of the ancient Italian city, with its fountain, sunken lawn, majestic colonnades and loggia.
For an Italian garden with a twist, visit the Trentham Estate in Staffordshire; where Italianate formality meets modern, naturalistic planting ideas. Following major regeneration, the Italian Garden laid out in 1840 has been given an exciting update, featuring one of Europe’s largest contemporary perennial schemes. Italianate fountains, balustrades and statuary sit comfortably alongside vast interweaving drifts of perennials and bulbs designed by Tom Stuart-Smith.
- Each of these gardens offers free entry to RHS members either throughout their open period or at selected times – please check specific admission details before you travel. See the RHS Garden Finder for more information about other RHS Partner Gardens.