Gardeners’ World presenter and garden designer Adam Frost has visited hundreds of gardens. Here he recommends some of his favourite joy enhancing outdoor plant havens that are worth exploring
I love the way gardens engage our senses, create emotional responses and inform the future. A garden is all about finding spaces that pull the heartstrings, because, while many of them are broadly similar, they can take you to different places depending on what’s in them and who has created them. Here are some of my favourites – old and new – that are perfect for you to visit in the spring.
A woodland Escape: Wakehurst, West Sussex
You never know what you might unearth around each corner of a garden. And Wakehurst has it all. The stand-out for me is its six living collections, all connected by a Woodlands of the World walk. From Asiatic woodland plants, including more than 150 Red List species, and North American trees towering above to the collection of explosive rhododendrons, Wakehurst is a magical day out, and Boundless members enjoy unlimited annual access to Kew and Wakehurst.
A garden to enjoy in all seasons: Kew Gardens, London
Kew Gardens is a delight to visit in all seasons/Credit: Getty Images
A trip to Kew or Wakehurst offers the perfect opportunity to unwind, explore, and soak in the beauty of the changing seasons. Whether you stay for an hour or spend the whole day, there's something for everyone to enjoy.
From breathtaking seasonal displays and historic architecture to exquisite botanical art and captivating exhibitions, the gardens provide a fresh experience with every visit.
Boundless member offer: Enjoy unlimited entry to Kew and Wakehurst Royal Botanical Garden
Boundless membership includes unlimited annual access to both gardens, making it easy to visit regularly and enjoy these unique landscapes. Members also get 50% off entry for an additional adult, free entry for up to five children and a 10% discount in the Kew shop both online and in store.
Fun for all the family: Lowther Castle & Gardens, Penrith, Lake District
Lowther Castle is a great day out for all the family/Credit: Getty Images
Lowther Castle has got everything, from a Garden-in-the-Ruins and a brilliant parterre to a huge adventure playground, and it sits in an amazing landscape.
Walk to the end of the Rose Garden, designed by Dan Pearson, and on through the pines and you get a view that will blow your mind; it’s a perfect connection to the landscape. Dan’s gentle touch highlights the beautifully romantic feel about not just the place but its incredible history too, all the way up to its partial demolition in the 1950s. lowthercastle.org
On the edge of the World: Tresco Abbey Garden, Scilly Isles
Tresco's Abbey Garden is a subtropical garden off the Cornish coast/Credit: Getty Images
Twenty-eight miles off the coast of Cornwall, on the Scilly Isles, sits Tresco’s Abbey Garden. It might be at the centre of a small island community, but what it grows is mind-blowingly diverse. It’s a sort of subtropical madness, with 2,000 specimens collected from across the southern hemisphere and subtropics that just wouldn’t survive anywhere else in the UK.
It’s a great reminder of our botanical history, and a testament to the tenacity and determination of Augustus Smith and his family, who built it. It beautifully demonstrates the quirky part of us as a gardening nation. tresco.co.uk
The Visionary Garden: Barnsdale Gardens, Rutland
Geoff Hamilton was a real visionary and completely ahead of his time – a gardener who 30 years ago built his gardens on peat-free, organic principles. The world’s been playing catch-up ever since. The 38 gardens he created here for BBC Gardeners’ World, all based on the size of the average UK garden, were rammed with ideas and creativity – like an ode to an old master. And it’s close to Rutland Water, which has a 26-mile walking and cycling trail. barnsdalegardens.co.uk
A Garden for a city break: Birmingham Botanical Gardens
This incredible green space for the people of Birmingham is a great city garden where you can explore and learn or just sit and have a sandwich. It’s almost 100 years old and features four amazing Victorian glasshouses, but it’s sadly under-visited – people are missing out on seeing more than 10,000 plants from across the world.
The garden’s trying to match a £5m National Lottery Heritage Fund grant for a major restoration project; hopefully that’ll raise the profile a bit. birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk
The Classic ‘Garden of England’ Gardens: Sissinghurst Castle Garden Kent
Journey through the many hidden 'rooms' at Sissinghurst/Credit: Getty Images
Kent is said to be ‘the garden of England’, and the classic Sissinghurst Castle Garden was built in the 1930s by poet and writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband, Harold Nicolson.
Ten garden ‘rooms’ were created around the Elizabethan ruins. I love the way the garden was informed by the couple’s cultural life and the slightly naughty side to that whole Bloomsbury set. I also love the way that head gardener Troy Scott Smith and his team have moved it forward so that it always feels fresh and relevant, particularly in the Delos garden where Dan Pearson has helped to create a great example of climate-adaptive planting. nationaltrust.org.uk
A Tapestry of trees: Westonbirt, The National Arboretum
I love trees but we’re living in a world where they’re under attack, with our ashes and oaks particularly threatened, so places like Westonbirt Arboretum are vital.
Westonbirt demonstrates the diversity of trees that we can grow in this country. It has got 2,500 different species and is constantly experimenting and working with scientists to remind visitors that going forward our gardens are going to be about diversity, diversity, diversity. The site is a wonder, like a massive continental quilt of trees.
In autumn it’s spectacular, especially from the 13m-high treetop walkway (above). forestryengland.uk
Boundless member offer – how to save on your next read
Dig into Adam’s passion for plants in Adam’s latest book, For The Love of Plants, you’ll enjoy a tour around his garden, where you’ll be introduced to his wildflower meadow, an ornamental kitchen garden, a shady courtyard, terrace and borders, gravel garden, and a woodland walk. He explains why he has chosen to plant what he has – to bring joy to his garden and his life – and also offers plenty of practical advice. It’s published by DK, priced £22.
Fancy reading Adam Frost’s For The Love of Plants? Members can save 7% on National Book Token eGift cards, valid at thousands of UK book shops.
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If you're working in or retired from the public sector or civil service, Boundless has two great membership options to choose from: Boundless and Boundless Plus.
With Boundless, you get unlimited access or discounted entry to many of the UK’s top attractions, including Kew Gardens and Wakehurst and WWT centres across the UK, as well as year-round deals on restaurants, holidays, shopping and much more.
With Boundless Plus, you can enjoy additional benefits including unlimited access to Historic Royal Palaces sites, National Trust for Scotland places, access to The Ramblers' extensive walking community, and peace of mind with roadside assistance and local recovery by Britannia Rescue.
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