Green and pleasant: 10 of the best places to stay near splendid gardens in the UK

Great Dixter, Rye, Sussex

Fans of the great garden writer Christopher Lloyd will know his home here as a place of pilgrimage. It was conceived in partnership with the architect, Lutyens, 100 years ago, with the latter’s stone and tile framework giving each garden “room” its own dynamic. A fanfare of blossom, foliage and scents, Great Dixter reflects Lloyd’s natural exuberance and dislike of naked soil. This romantic garden remains an inspiration for many. Stay at the George Inn, a former 18th-century coaching inn four miles away in Robertsbridge, from £99. Refuel at the onsite Loggia Café.
The garden is open until 30 October, £13; greatdixter.co.uk

The Newt, Somerset

With an unexpected feature around each corner, these gardens are a favourite, if pricey, family day out. Discover interactive trails on suspended walkways in the trees, colour-themed garden rooms, a “Beezantium” and a reimagined Roman temple conjured out of the archaeological archives and excavated from the rubble. Visit the Garden Café or book a picnic hamper. Stay onsite at the Newt or the Farmyard from £290.
Entrance requires a guest membership pass for the year, £68; thenewtinsomerset.com

Iford Manor, near Bath

This secret jewel of an Italianate garden combines architecture and grand design with a classical sensibility. The creation of Edwardian landscape architect Harold Peto, it features stone terraces flanked by Doric columns with fountains, statuary and belvederes. Lunch, teas and Friday night suppers at the excellent Café are hosted by Iford’s owner, William Cartwright-Hignett. Rowley Cottage, converted from medieval stables, sleeps six (minimum three-night stay from £375).
The garden is open until October, £7.50; ifordmanor.co.uk

Kiftsgate, Gloucestershire

Nearly a century old, this famous garden is the creative vision of three generations of women. Renowned for its special old rose, this most elegantly English of gardens goes through subtle changes of mood as it moves through the White Sunk Gardens, Water Gardens, Orchard and Bluebell Wood. Three atmospheric lodges sleep from four to 14, costing from £190 a night with minimum three-night stay.
Garden open until October, £9.50; kiftsgate.co.uk

Somerleyton Hall, Suffolk

This estate’s famous maze, along with the extensive grounds, made a big impression on WG Sebald, who wrote about its otherworldly charms in The Rings of Saturn. Since his visit, much has changed and the grand facade is now recognisable to some as a Royal Palace in The Crown. The estate’s Fritton Lake Clubhouse offers dining and accommodation from £180 per person or from £1,030 for three nights in the lakeside cabins.
The garden is open until November, £8.45; somerleyton.co.uk

Haddon Hall, Derbyshire

This early Renaissance pile, with centuries-old stone terracing and balustrades, is a medieval treasure. More recently, Arne Maynard has reinvigorated the planting. A formal knot garden, framed by topiary, acts as a canvas for Elizabethan plants, traditionally cultivated as dyes and tinctures. Views open on to a medieval parkland. Stay at HH’s pub, the Peacock at Rowsley, from £150 B&B. Restaurant in the 17th-century stables.
The garden is open until October, £23.90; haddonhall.co.uk

Lamorran, St Mawes, Cornwall

Its sheltered inlet and mild microclimate protects this intimate and lush subtropical garden from frosts. Pathways snake along the steep, terraced slope through dense forests of palms, ferns, azalea and rhododendron, providing a sense of exploration, with sudden exhilarating reveals of the sea across the Roseland Peninsula. Refuel at La Terrazza or at the wonderful Tresanton Hotel and restaurant next door. Onsite, Lamorran Lodge sleeps four from £750 per week.
The garden is open until October, £11; lamorrangarden.co.uk

Ballyrobert Gardens, Ballyclare, Co Antrim

This is an inspiring family-owned garden and nursery. The informal planting is especially vibrant in autumn and there’s a pleasing balance between cultivated areas and the wilded areas and woodland across 16 acres. A fairy tree, hole tree and Celtic spiral have the garden firmly rooted in the landscape of the magical glens. Stay nearby at Ballylagan Organic Farm; £109 per night, in either a four-bedroom farmhouse or self-catering cottage.
The garden is open until October, £5.99; ballyrobertgardens.com

Dyffryn Fernant, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire

Christina Shand’s naturalistic planting works in harmony with the environment to create one of the loveliest, most ethereal, domestic gardens in Wales. The six acres are tucked into the rugged Pembrokeshire landscape of rock, moor and marsh. Onsite Y Bwthyn Bach, a secluded garden cottage covered in crimson vine, is the perfect off-grid bolthole, sleeping three, from £252 in low season for three nights.
The gardens are open until 31 October, £7; dyffrynfernant.co.uk

Alladale Wilderness Reserve, the Highlands

This is the original rewilding project in Scotland; 1 million trees planted in the last decade, red squirrels and endangered wildcats successfully reintroduced. While the experience here is about reconnecting with the untamed nature, the new aquaponics garden supplying vegetables, fruit and fish is an insight into sustainable self-sufficiency. With a vast 23,000 acres of wilderness to explore, Alladale is not for day trippers. There are four bothies, a bunk house and the remotest lodge in UK, Deanich, to rent for up to 18 from £2,750 for the week.
alladale.com.