England’s tourism bods have deigned that 2013 is the year of the garden: as well as celebrating 100 years of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the horticultural world will also be marking a raft of other anniversaries, openings and milestone events this year. Visit England (www.visitengland.com) has picked out the following top bloomers:
Flex your gardening muscles: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will be largest new urban park in this country for a century and its opening in July will focus on wildlife, biodiversity and ecology, with reed beds, grassland and brown field areas and broad-leaved woodland and hedgerows, designed to create habitat for different species. The southern part – due to open in spring 2014 – will be more urban, featuring a 21st century pleasure garden and a series of “outdoor rooms”. You can visit now on limited Park in Progress tours. Tours will run on weekends and school holidays from March 29 to 6 May 6 and cost £15 for adults, £7 for children under 17. Children under four go free. www.noordinarypark.co.uk
On the Rhododendron trail: Bowood House & Gardens in Wiltshire is one of the best spots in the country to enjoy rhododendron walks and this month the 18th century house opened a new four-acre section of garden to extend the walks even further. In flower from late April until mid-June, rhododendrons (as well as camellias and azaleas) brighten up over 60 acres of these fantastic gardens, which have been a labour of love since the 1760s when Capability Brown first put his stamp on it. Enjoy admission to Bowood House & Gardens, a two-course lunch in the House Restaurant and the tour for £27.50 per person. The Rhododendron Walks are just £3 extra. www.bowood-house.co.uk
150 years of Stephenson R Clarke: 2013 marks the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Stephenson R Clarke, creator of one of the most stunning gardens in the country: Borde Hill Garden in Sussex. As patron to some of the most prolific plant collectors, Clarke created the garden with many rare trees and shrubs from exotic locations. Today, his foresight and hard work allows visitors to experience a world-renowned botanical collection surrounded by stunning Sussex countryside that has hardly changed in the last century. www.bordehill.co.uk
Blossoming thirties: The UK’s only Blossom Trail in Worcestershire ‘s Vale of Evesham celebrates its 30th birthday this spring. Fifty miles of pink and white flowers comprising apple, pear, plum, damson and cherry blossom stretches from the Cotswold village of Broadway to Pershore to the west, a stretch said to be the inspiration for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. People can walk, cycle or drive the Blossom Trail by themselves or they can take one of the official Blossom Coach Tours. www.blossom-trail.org.uk
Getting back to nature: Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds has launched two new gardening tours this year: Available on the first three Fridays and Saturdays of the month, the 75-minute tours of the award-winning gardens cost £18 per person. The “Gardening for Wildlife” tours have been created by Sudeley’s Head Gardener, Jon Hodder, in support of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s Living Gardens. On the 75-minute tour, visitors will see how the castle’s grounds support hundreds of wildlife specifies within its many niche gardens. The tours run throughout May and September and cost £14 per person. www.sudeleycastle.co.uk
