Parks & gardens

Boughton House

Boughton House has extensive remains of formal gardens dating from the late-17th and early-18th centuries. The gardens surround a country house rebuilt at the same time, set in a park developed from a late-medieval deer park. Beyond the park are avenues and rides, also part of the landscape of the late-17th and early-18th centuries. 

The current Duke of Buccleugh was passionate about adding a 21st century “edge”. He commissioned Kim Wilkie to design a striking new landform, Orpheus which is named after the famed musician of Greek mythology who, when his wife Eurydice died, went down into the underworld to try and reclaim her. Orpheus takes the form of an inverted pyramid, sunk into the earth and open to the elements, reflecting the mound on the opposite side of the lake. It seems to invite you to descend into its depths and enjoy the tranquility.

To find out more, including opening times, visit Boughton House website >

Castle Ashby Gardens

Castle Ashby has a wealth of gardens: an Orangery, designed by architect Matthew Digby Wyatt dating back to 1872; a butterfly garden where the plants have been specifically chosen to attract butterflies, bees and other insects.

A Maltese Cross which is best seen during early June when the silver, blue and white plants are in full bloom. Behind the Maltese Cross is the Rainbow Border. Planted in blocks of colour ranging from whites, yellows, reds, pinks and blues; and the Arboretum and Nature Trail dating back to the 1860s.

To find out more, including opening times, visit the Castle Ashby Gardens website  >

Cottesbrooke Hall and Gardens

The formal and wild gardens surrounding and adjacent to the house have been mainly developed during the 20th Century and these developments continue today. Many distinguished landscape designers have been involved – Robert Weir Schultz, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe and Dame Sylvia Crowe to name but a few.

To find out more, including opening times, visit the Cottesbrooke Hall and Gardens website >

Deene Park

The gardens at Deene Park like the house, have undergone many changes over the centuries, but have never looked better than they do today.  

The formal gardens on the south side of this beautiful historic house give way to a vista of parkland and lakes linked by a canal; at its narrowest junction the canal is spanned by a fine stone bridge reminiscent of pictures in fairy tale books. 

To find out more, including opening times, visit the Deene Park website >

Evenley Wood Garden

Set amongst the beautiful Northamptonshire countryside, this 60-acre privately owned woodland garden contains a large and notable collection of plants; ranging from unusual trees and shrubs to a wide selection of lilies and other bulbs.

The garden’s unusual band of acid soil, in this otherwise predominantly alkaline area, provides the opportunity to cultivate plants such as rhododendrons, camellias, and magnolias, which would not ordinarily thrive in this location.

To find out more, including opening times, visit the Evenley Wood Garden website >

Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens

Within the 18th century setting, the gardens that visitors see at Kelmarsh Hall today are largely inspired by Nancy Lancaster. She extended her interior style of shabby chic charm into the gardens and drafted in the garden designer of her day, the talented Norah Lindsay, to help. Around the Hall the landscape architect Geoffrey Jellicoe laid out a formal terrace.

From the sophisticated pastels of the sunken garden through to the showier shades of the 60m long border, the garden leads you on a tour around the perimeter of a triangular walled garden. This secret heart is a relaxing space filled with traditional fruit and vegetables, cut flower beds and a restored vinery. The produce and cut flowers are sold in the Visitor Centre when available.

These overlays of history within the gardens contributed to the gardens listing by English Heritage as Grade II, a garden of national significance. 

To find out more, including opening times, visit the Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens website >

Lamport Hall and Gardens

The Hall is set in tranquil gardens, enclosed by a spacious park. The design has been influenced by the interests and tastes of successive owners. One of the main changes of the 18th century was the planting of box edgings to seven groups of shrubs. Only one remains in the far corner and now encloses a summer house. 

Sir Charles Isham is responsible for a remarkable rockery which is the earliest alpine garden in England and rises to 24 feet tall. It was peopled with the world’s first garden gnomes. The only remaining one is on view in the Hall. 

Today the gardens include extensive herbaceous borders and shrubbery walks containing rare and interesting plants. The walled cutting garden was replanted in 2010 and is full of unusual tall perennial plants Thought to be one of the largest cutting gardens in England, a vibrant array of colour and variety of plants are intersected by gravelled pathways. 

To find out more, including opening times, visit Lamport Hall & Gardens website >

Prebendal Manor Gardens

Alan Titchmarsh described the gardens as a "stunning example of a recreated medieval garden". ( Royal Gardeners Pub., BBC, 2003).

The gardens were established to represent both the practical and decorative features that could be found in a high status garden between the 13th and 15th centuries. They are best seen in late May and June. 

To find out more, visit the Prebendal Manor website >

Sulby Gardens

An interesting and unusual property, on the Leicestershire border between Welford and Husbands Bosworth, covering 12 acres comprising working Victorian kitchen garden, orchard, and late 18 c. icehouse, plus species-rich nature reserve including woodland, feeder stream to River Avon, a variety of ponds and established wild flower meadows.

To find out more, visit the  National Garden Scheme website >