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Home , Baron Dulverton, Batsford, Battle of Blenheim, Chelsea Physic Garden, English Baroque, English landscape garden

A Spring Tour of English and the Chelsea Show JEFF GRIFF/Lowe’s

The Chelsea was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in , , in 1673. This physic garden is the among the oldest in Britain.

Protected by the garden's heat-trapping high brick walls, many considered non-hardy thrive here including, what is doubtless, the world's northernmost grapefruit growing outdoors.

In 1713, Dr purchased the garden and initiated the golden age of the Chelsea Physic Garden under the direction of (1722–1770), when it became the world's most richly stocked botanic garden.

The garden plots arranged by affliction, demonstrate the importance of plants in everyday life past and present. Allow 2 hours and engage a guided tour here. Highgrove is the private residence of Charles, The Prince of Wales and is opened for visitors to share. Created with imagination and passion by the Prince over the last 35 years, the series of interlinked organic gardens reflect his deep commitment to sustainability, as well as a natural artistic ability. For security reasons, all tours here are guided and it is well worth the visit. The gardens demonstrate creativity and accurately reflect current trends of sustainability. Enjoy the champagne lunch and petits fours in the tea house. Arrange your visit well ahead of time. Gardens is a botanical garden in London that houses the largest and most diverse botanical collections in the world". Founded in 1840, its collections include more than 30,000 different plants, while the herbarium, which is one of the largest in the world, has over seven million preserved specimens. It is one of London's top tourist attractions and is a World Heritage Site.

The Palm House was built by architect Decimus Burton and iron-maker Richard Turner between 1844 and 1848, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron. It is considered "the world's most important surviving Victorian glass and iron structure." The structure's panes of glass are all hand-blown.

So mush to digest here... I could have spent 2 days and had only 3 hours.

The estate of Batsford was inherited in 1886 by Algernon Freeman-Mitford, 1st . He had travelled widely in Asia and developed the garden as a "wild" with natural plantings inspired by Chinese and Japanese practice.

After neglect during World War II the was revived by (Frederick) Anthony Hamilton Wills, 2nd Baron (1915–1992), who succeeded in 1956. He consolidated and expanded the collections and brought Batsford into international repute. To ensure the survival of the arboretum he donated Batsford Park to a charitable trust in 1984.

Interesting history and future ahead. Their new development is sure to have Batsford making many improvements over the next few years... definitely worth 3-4 hours and a guided tour is needed to best appreciate what you are seeing.

Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in , England. It is the principal residence of the Dukes of Marlborough, and the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1722. was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

The building of the palace was originally intended to be a reward to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, from a grateful nation for the duke's military triumphs against the French and Bavarians during the War of the Spanish Succession, culminating in the 1704 Battle of Blenheim. However, soon after its construction began, the palace became the subject of political infighting; this led to Marlborough's exile, the fall from power of his duchess, and lasting damage to the reputation of the architect Sir John Vanbrugh. Designed in the rare, and short-lived, English style, architectural appreciation of the palace is as divided today as it was in the .

Following the 1st Duke's death the Duchess concentrated most of her considerable energies on the completion of the palace itself, and the park remained relatively unchanged until the arrival of in 1764. The 4th Duke employed Brown who immediately began an scheme to naturalize and enhance the landscape, with tree planting, and man-made undulations.

At the end of the 19th century, the palace was saved from ruin by funds gained from the 9th Duke of Marlborough's marriage to American railroad heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt. The exterior of the palace remains in good repair.

It is unique in its combined use as a family home, mausoleum and national monument. The palace is also notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir .

I am not a fan of palace tours so I cannot speak of the indoors. The gardens themselves are not worthy of a visit but the ancient Oaks of High park are worthy provide you are able to gain access. The overall scenery of the grounds is dramatic, inspiring and historically significant. The Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Wisley is in the English county of Surrey south of London. Wisley is the second most visited garden in the with 1 million visitors per year. Wisley was founded by George Ferguson Wilson, who purchased a 60-acre site in 1878. He established the "Oakwood Experimental Garden on part of the site, where he attempted to "make difficult plants grow successfully". Wilson died in 1902 and the garden was then given to the RHS.

Wisley is now a large and diverse garden covering 240 acres. In addition to numerous formal and informal decorative gardens, several glasshouses and an extensive arboretum, it includes small scale "model gardens" which are intended to show visitors what they can achieve in their own gardens, and a trials field where new cultivars are assessed.

In April 2005 Alan Titchmarsh cut the turf to mark the start of construction of the Bicentenary Glasshouse. This major new feature covers three quarters of an acre and overlooks a new lake built at the same time.

A great garden to visit for so many reasons... allow 3-5 hours. I also suggest taking the extra time to dine at their restaurant that (seasonally) serves fresh greens grown in the gardens.

Kiftsgate Court Gardens is situated above the village of Mickleton in the county of , England. The gardens are the creation of three generations of women . Started by Heather Muir in the 1920s, continued by Diany Binny from 1950 and now looked after by Anne Chambers and her husband... Kiftsgate Court is now the home of the Chambers family. The gardens are well known for the famous Kiftsgate rose, a scented climbing rose, which is shade-tolerant and very vigorous. It is claimed that the Rosa filipes 'Kiftsgate' is the largest rose in Britain measuring 80 feet x 90 feet x 50 feet high. It was planted in 1938 and named by Graham Stuart Thomas in 1951. Such a personal space... you feel the comfort of home in this garden space. Leave 2 hours for your visit and connect your visit with Hidcote that is across the street. is a garden located at the village of , near , Gloucestershire. It is one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain, with its linked "rooms" of hedges, rare trees, shrubs and herbaceous borders. Created by Lawrence Johnston, it is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public.

The Americans, Lawrence Johnston and his mother, settled in Britain about 1900, and Lawrence immediately became a British citizen and fought in the British army during the Boer war. In 1907 Johnston's mother, Mrs Gertrude Winthrop, purchased the Hidcote Manor Estate. Johnston soon became interested in turning the fields around the house into a garden. By 1910 he had begun to lay out the key features of the garden, and by the 1920s he had twelve full-time gardeners working for him.

Lawrence Johnston was influenced in creating his garden at Hidcote by the work of Alfred Parsons and Gertrude Jekyll, who were designing gardens of hardy plants contained within sequences of outdoor "rooms". Hidcote's outdoor "rooms" have various characters and themes, achieved by the use of box hedges, hornbeam and yew, and stone walls. These rooms, such as the 'White Garden' and 'Fuchsia Garden' are linked, some by vistas, and furnished with . Some have ponds and fountains, and all are planted with flowers in bedding schemes. They surround the 17th century manor house, and there are a number of outhouses and a .

A “must see” garden for anyone who has a love of plants, or history. Allow 2-3 hours.

Rosemary Verey was an internationally known English , lecturer and prolific garden writer who designed the famous garden at Barnsley House, near .

In 1970 she opened the garden for one day to the public for the National Gardens Scheme but eventually it was open 6 days per week to accommodate the 30,000 annual visitors. In 1984 when her husband David died, Verey began designing gardens for American and British clients. Most notable are the Prince of Wales, and Sir , Princess Michael of Kent, the Marquess of Bute and the New York Botanical Garden.

Rosemary Verey was well known for taking imposing elements from large public gardens and bringing them into scale for the home gardeners use. Her Laburnum walk, which has been photographed many times, is an example of this technique. The National Trust's Bodnant Garden in North Wales has a very large Laburnum walk that inspired Verey to plant a similar, smaller scale Laburnum walk at Barnsley House. Verey is also noted for making vegetable (ornamental potager) gardens fashionable once again. The potager at Barnsley House was inspired by that at the Château de Villandry on the Loire in France.

My favorite English garden, I first visited when Rosemary was alive and found it very interesting how the head explained his approach to the gardens continued development. Leave 2-3 hours and consider staying here as it is now operating as a B&B.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and is the most famous flower and landscape gardens show in the United Kingdom, and perhaps in the world. The first Royal Horticultural Society Great Spring Show was held in 1862, at the RHS garden in Kensington. Locations and popularity of the show varied for many years due primarily to world wars I and II. Today the show is held at the grounds or the Royal Hospital Chelsea. The Chelsea Flower Show is attended by 157,000 visitors each year, a number limited by the capacity of the 11-acre grounds, and all tickets must be purchased in advance. Several members of the British Royal Family attend a preview of the show, as part of the royal patronage of the RHS. Amazing! I have never witnessed such perfection in . The horticultural displays impressed me more than the display gardens but the show was worthy of my “bucket list” designation. Plan ahead for your visit and allow a full day to fully enjoy the show.

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