Five of the best gardens to head to this summer

Since antiquity, gardens have been a form of artistic expression. Artists including Monet and Frida Kahlo depicted their gardens in their works, immortalising their experiments with planting and colours. Writers also used horticulture as a channel for their creativity. With the summer holidays in full swing, we highlight some of the best artists’ and writers’ gardens to visit.

Abbotsford, Melrose

Not only the inventor of the historical novel, Sir Walter Scott was an avid gardener too. The gardens at Abbotsford, his former home, are testament to his ingenuity, with Gothic staircases and herbaceous borders abound, and historical statues on display. Composed of three interconnecting ‘rooms’, Scott’s horticultural vision is a rare example of a Regency garden layout. In the South Court – the first of the gardens to explore – look out for the entrance gate and ancient sundials before heading through to the rose-filled Morris Garden. Make sure to also spend some time in the Walled Garden – Scott’s kitchen garden – filled with a mix of heritage vegetables, fruit and herbs. This space also contains an example of a 19th-century glasshouse, designed by Scott himself.

Abbotsford, Melrose. Open from March to November.

scottsabbotsford.com

Photo: Andrew Lawson

Little Sparta, Lanarkshire

Landscape poems, obelisks and temple pools are just some of the highlights to see at Little Sparta. The creative vision of Scottish artist, poet and gardener Ian Hamilton Finlay, the seven-acre site is divided into distinctive areas, which explore ideas including warfare, the sea and antiquity. Take time to meander through the Roman Garden and Julie’s Garden – a secluded area inspired by the garden in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s novel Julie, ou la Nouvelle Héloïse. There are more than 270 artworks to discover too, from the lakeside sculpture titled Nuclear Sailto the monumental work The Present Order Is the Disorder of the Future – Saint-Just, which is made from eleven half-dressed blocks of stone, with a word carved on top.  

Little Sparta, Dunsyre, Lanarkshire. Open Thursday to Sunday, from June to September. 

littlesparta.org.uk

Photo: Vincent Oliver

Hardy’s Cottage, Dorset

Roses and herbaceous plants jostle together in this quintessential cottage garden. Nestled among ancient woodland, this cob and thatched cottage was the birthplace of writer Thomas Hardy. Here, he wrote many of his early short stories, poems and novels, including Far from the Madding Crowdand Under the Greenwood Tree. After exploring the cottage, make sure to wander through Hardy’s orchard, home to apple varieties from Newton Wonder and Blenheim Orange to Bramley and Warrior – a traditional Dorset apple. To discover more of Hardy’s surroundings, set off on a trail around Thorcombe Woods – one of the novelist’s beloved walking spots. 

Hardy’s Cottage, Dorchester, Dorset. Open daily with some closures in November and December 2019 (information available here). 

nationaltrust.org.uk/hardys-cottage

© National Trust Images/Andrew Butler

Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent

Colour and creativity combine in this world-renowned site, the former home of writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband, the diplomat Harold Nicolson. Often regarded as one of the most beautiful gardens in Britain, Sissinghurst is testament to Sackville-West’s experimental approach to horticultural design. Don’t miss the Rose Garden, described by Sackville-West as a ‘tumble of roses and honeysuckles, figs and vines,’ and the South Cottage Garden, characterised by its red and gold planting. Other highlights include the White Garden, filled with lilies and eremurus and Delos, an area inspired by the couple’s visits to the Greek island.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent. Open daily with closures on 24 and 25 December.

nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst-castle-garden

© Tate. Photo: Ian Kingsnorth

Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, Cornwall

Boasting views of the Cornish coast, the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden is a visual feast for art lovers. In 1949, the eponymous sculptor moved into the property – then known as Trewyn Studio – where she created many of her signature works in response to the surrounding landscape. Today, the gardens are filled with her bronze, stone and wood sculptures, with many remaining in the locations she placed them. Look out for her geometric piece Four-Square (Walk Through) and her bronze work Sphere with Inner Form, which is often interpreted as a child in the womb.  

Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, St Ives, Cornwall. Open from March to October (closed on Mondays during the winter months).

tate.org.uk