WALES GARDEN DESCRIPTIONS BRYNBELLA GARDENS surround what has become known as one of the best examples of a Georgian Villa in Wales. Originally constructed in the late 1700’s, the gardens were overgrown when purchased in 1994 by Mr. and Mrs. Peter Neumak, who rather than restore the gardens exactly as they had been, chose to create a modern garden while retaining many of its 18th century features. The garden is laid out as a series of rooms with constant visual surprises. There are both formal and informal gardens, a walled garden, three separate water gardens and a rock garden, winner of the British Association of Landscaping Industries Award. Delightful statues and modern sculptures serve as focal points throughout many of the garden rooms and the overall layout offers stunning views across the Vale of Clwyd. BODRHYDDAN HOUSE AND GARDENS is a 17th century estate that has been the home of Lord Langford and his family for over 500 years and is one of the few remaining stately homes in Wales that is still family-owned. The 6 acre garden has one of the most striking parterres in the country dating from 1875. Elsewhere there is a brick-walled kitchen garden and ice house, vibrantly planted island beds, serpentine lawns dotted with trees and shrubs, several ponds spanned by Giverny-style bridges, a rockery, and at the furthest point of the vista, placed upon a rising shrub covered mound is a millennium summerhouse backed by a shady woodland. BODYSGALLON HALL AND GARDENS are situated high on a peninsular with a series of terraces which have been carved out of the hillside. The Hall was originally built in 1250 as a watchtower for nearby Conwy Castle and was extended in 1620 and again in 1900. The house and grounds were in a desperate state until they were turned into a commercial enterprise in 1980 and although currently functioning as a high-class hotel, the building, its gardens and 200 acres of parkland and woods have been gifted to the National Trust to secure their long term future. The gardens have been recognized for their award winning restoration and famous for a striking 17th century walled garden with a circular, radially arranged parterre colorfully planted with fragrant herbs. Other features include a walled Edwardian rose garden, lily ponds, several follies, a rockery with cascade and a number of well-established specimen trees and shrubs. PLAS CADNANT HIDDEN GARDENS on the Isle of Anglesey are situated at the side of the Menai Strait hidden from view near the Menai Bridge and have been described as a Welsh ‘Lost Gardens of Heligan’. Originally laid out in 1804 in the picturesque style by Humphrey Repton, the gardens had become derelict for over 70 years. Since 1997 these historic gardens have been undergoing discovery and restoration. Three different gardens have been discovered, including a walled garden with curving walls, a secret valley garden with three waterfalls and a river, and an upper woodland garden with stone outcrops and the remains of a 19th century folly. PLAS NEWYDD HOUSE AND GARDENS are set on the shores of the Menai Strait with stunning views towards the mountains of Snowdonia. The climate here allows many tender exotic and Mediterranean plants to flourish and a five acre Rhododendron walk containing one of the finest collections in Wales is accessed along a woodland and marine walk. It also has an Italianate Terrace, a Rill Garden, Courtyard Garden and an Australasian arboretum. The elegant country house is famous for containing the largest painting and exhibition of the works of Rex Whistler and a military museum containing relics from the 1st Marquess of Anglesey’s tenure, who commanded the cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. BODNANT GARDEN is one of the finest and best loved gardens in the world. Created in the 1870’s the garden is comprised of two main sections: the Upper Garden surrounding Bodnant Hall and the lower garden known as the Dell. The Upper Garden is formal with a strong Arts and Crafts feel. It has terraces, pergolas, sweeping lawns, a rose garden and herbaceous plantings. Its two most popular features are the long Laburnum Tunnel with flowers hanging like a shower of gold when in bloom; and the Canal Terrace with its lily pond and picturesque pin mill. The Dell is wild and shady, an informal woodland garden home to five National Collections; Magnolia, Embothrium, Eucryphia, Rhododendron forrestii and Bodnant Rhododendron Hybrids. CRUG FARM PLANTS is a unique nursery-garden combination located on the edge of Snowdonia. Run by Bleddyn and Sue Wynn Jones, owners, horticulturists and plant explorers who for the past 20 years, travel abroad for 3 months at a time on plant hunting exhibitions to areas such as Vietnam, China, Columbia, South Korea, India, Nepal and Taiwan. They are award winning Chelsea Show exhibitors and have received numerous RHS Gold Medals. Their nursery specializes in unusual herbaceous perennials, climbers and shrubs propagated from seeds and plants collected on their expeditions. In their walled garden, trails wind through a jungle of many coveted plants, some of which have been made available in the United States through Dan Hinkley of Heronswood Nursery, a fellow collector who has accompanied them on some of their expeditions. SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK was established in 1951 as the third national park in Britain, following the Peak District and the Lake District. Its name is derived from Snowdon, which is the highest mountain in Wales and England at 3560 feet. The park covers 827 square miles, has 37 miles of coastline and is made up of both public and private lands. It is governed by the Snowdonia National Park Authority which is made up of local government and Welsh representatives. PLAS BRONDANW GARDENS were given to the famous architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis by his father in 1908 after they had long been abandoned by the family. Sir Clough was 20 years old at the time and continued working on this garden for the next 70 years. Inspired by the Renaissance gardens of Italy, Sir Clough’s design of the garden is strongly architectural, relying on stone walls, topiary and avenues which lead the eye to the majestic mountains of Snowdonia from the end of every vista. Urns, statues, fountains, orangery, gateways and steps are all here, beautifully designed and placed. His work at Plas Brondanw gave Sir Clough the confidence to embark on his larger and quite different project in 1925, the nearby village of Portmeirion. PORTMEIRION is best known as the fantasy Italianate village designed and created by architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis. It is well known as the setting for the TV series The Prisoner and is also the origin for Portmeirion Pottery. Less widely known however, is that Portmeirion has a unique and diverse collection of plants due to its temperate microclimate. As a result of its proximity to the sea and the warm moist air of the North Atlantic Drift, tender and subtropical plants grow in the piazzas, avenues, beds and borders surrounding the eclectic mix of Gothic, Renaissance and Victorian buildings that make up the village. Just beyond the village lie 70 acres of woodland with pathways leading to the coastline where Himalayan rhododendrons, camellias, gigantic Japanese Cedars, lakes, oriental follies and a striking red Japanese-style bridge can be found. LLANLYR is an ancient site where a community of Cistercian nuns lived during the 12th century until the Dissolution of Monasteries under Henry the VIII. The basic structure of the present garden was laid out in 1830 but has undergone considerable restoration and development by present owners Loveday Lewis Gee and her husband Robert who have been adding their own distinctive imprint to the 4 acre garden since the late 1980’s. Wide borders surround the house and a densely planted shrubbery leads to a color-themed rose border. There is a striking Italianate rill, water garden, stone bridge, summerhouse and a large fishpond and bog garden planted with primulas, gunnera, ferns and irises. Historical features include a cob-walled kitchen garden and a carved Celtic stone commemorating the gift of a plot of land to an Irish follower of St David around 600 AD. Recent additions include a labyrinth inspired by the Dreamer’s journey in William Langland’s 14C poem Piers the Plowman and a large carved oak column, the shadow of which marks the months of the year. CAE HIR GARDENS is often referred to as a ‘Welsh garden with a Dutch history’. Started over 30 years ago, it is the extraordinary creation of Wil Akkermans, a Dutchman from the Netherlands with a family history in horticulture. Akkermans met his wife while on holiday in the Wales seaside town of Aberystwyth and after living in Holland for 9 years; they decided to return to Wales to fulfill his dream of creating his own garden to be opened to the public. Covering 6 acres, the strength of the garden lies in Akkermans skill in blending the wild with the cultivated using a harmonious blend of native and exotic plants. Beds and borders flow into each other with graceful ease leading to hidden paths and sudden surprising views. There is a 60’ laburnum crescent, a meandering stream, water garden, summerhouse and local slate stonework. In 2004, Cae Hir was chosen by the RHS as a partner garden and in 2009 Akkermans passed the garden on to his son and daughter, each of whom have added their own inspiration to this beautiful garden. Cae Hir has never had the benefits of external funding and still is entirely a family venture and one of Wales best loved gardens.