Whether you’re local and craving time in nature or travelling up and down the UK in search of beautiful green spaces – there’s no need to look any further. We’ve spotlighted nine beautiful gardens in the Midlands, which RHS Members can enjoy for free on selected days
The Midlands is home to 25 RHS Partner Gardens across 10 counties: Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Thirteen of them welcome dogs, so your four-legged friends don’t have to miss out. Explore our top picks below and get ready for an unforgettable day out.
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Tucked just off the M6, Castle Bromwich Historic Gardens is the perfect place to stop and stretch your legs, grab a cup of tea and avoid motorway service stations. If you have a dog, bring it too – it’s very welcome in the garden. This beautifully preserved, Grade I-listed walled garden dates back to the 18th century and features heritage apple tree orchards, an extensive vegetable garden, an and colourful herbaceous borders. There’s also a mud kitchen and play area for children.
Feeling more inspired than ever after your visit? Nearby you’ll find RHS Partner Gardens Winterbourne House and Garden and Middleton Hall.
Once owned by renowned naturalists Francis Willughby and John Ray, whose work influenced modern taxonomy, this Grade II-listed walled garden was designed by Susan Campbell in an Arts and Crafts style, complete with a historic bothy. Highlights include a rare Rosa ‘American Pillar’, as well as a sensory herb garden and a long wisteria arch. The picturesque lake is teeming with birdlife. It was once filled with white water lilies (highly prized at Covent Garden flower market) but is now home to just a few of these, which remain interspersed among thousands of yellow lilies.
One of Britain’s oldest arboretums, Arley Arboretum and Gardens is home to 300 species of rare and ancient trees and offers dramatic autumn colours from its fine acer collection. In spring, visit Britain’s longest laburnum arch, stretching 65m, along with vibrant rhododendrons and azaleas. Throughout the year, formal gardens with a 5.5-metre-high fountain, herbaceous borders and a striking Italian garden await exploration.
A slice of Japan in the heart of Derbyshire, Cascades Gardens is inspired by Japanese gardens and Buddhist philosophy. The gardens feature a Japanese water garden, a Zen rock garden, cliffs and a woodland, with rare and unusual perennials, shrubs, alpines and roses – all offering the perfect place to linger and meditate.
Doddington Hall and Gardens is free for RHS Members to visit all year round, except during the Summer Sculpture Exhibition, which is well worth a visit in itself. With a £7.60 ticket for RHS Members, you’ll be able to see works of art from over 60 local, national and international sculptors.
At other times, explore the romantic wild gardens and look out for the Temple of the Winds and the ‘dinosaur’s egg’, as well as the kitchen garden and the famous bearded irises in late May and early June.
A treat for garden lovers, the old Georgian manor house at Goldstone has a productive kitchen garden that supplies the hotel kitchen, along with a beautiful rose terrace and stunning herbaceous borders. The property also hosts regular ‘A Taste of’ garden tours, paired with a seasonally inspired tasting menu, available at discounted rates for RHS Members.
Once home to American socialite and renowned interior designer Nancy Lancaster, the Kelmarsh Gardens are the result of her work, with support from Norah Lindsey and Geoffrey Jellicoe. Wander through the colourful walled garden, with delphiniums in summer and dahlias in September; stroll through the rose garden, which offers a traditional English view across the meadow to the church, and explore the yew topiary, a subtle sunken garden and expansive parkland. Little ones will love the fairy trail in summer and the fairy picnic held every year in July.
With its broad sweeps of lawn, avenues and unexpected vistas, Melbourne Hall Gardens is the best surviving early eighteenth-century English garden in the style of the famous designer le Notre. It’s noted for its long Yew Tunnel and a wrought iron known as the ‘birdcage’, designed and constructed by the celebrated ironsmith Robert Bakewell and completed in 1711. Other features include a grotto, colourful themed borders and water features.
The Dorothy Clive Garden is a plantsperson’s paradise and a magical hillside garden with enchanting views. Explore the new winter garden, the rose walk and stunning seasonal borders, with notable plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, sarcococca and hydrangeas. Built by Colonel Clive for his wife Dorothy, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, the garden continues to serve the public and local community, while also promoting horticultural education.
Find all the RHS Partner Gardens in the Midlands by visiting the RHS Partner Garden search and entering your chosen county in the search bar.
Please note: Opening times and free RHS Member days vary. Please check with the garden before you attend to avoid disappointment.
