Day 1, Thursday, June 11: ARRIVAL
Tour members arrange their own transportation to London and to Hilton London Heathrow, where we will be staying our first night. We will gather for a welcome dinner this evening at the hotel restaurant (included in tour price).
Day 2, Friday, June 12: THE BARN, EAST RUSTON OLD VICARAGE GARDEN
As we make our way from London to Norfolk, along the way, we’ll make our first stop at The Barn, acclaimed garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith’s Hertfordshire retreat. Here, Tom, known for his RHS Chelsea gold medals and Trentham Gardens, showcases his naturalistic planting style, where ornamental grasses dance with perennials in sophisticated, meadow-inspired combinations in a charming and thoughtfully designed space built around a beautifully restored 18th-century timber-framed barn.
In the afternoon we will reach Norfolk and the iconic East Ruston Old Vicarage Garden, one of England’s most extraordinary private gardens. Created by Alan Gray and Graham Robeson, this horticultural haven defies expectations with its exuberant planting schemes, exotic borders and
sweeping vistas out to the North Sea. Wander through desert gardens, tropical borders, and a Dutch-style sunken garden, each room bursting with personality and plants.
Day 3, Saturday, June 13: HOLKHAM HALL, OLD MANOR FARMHOUSE
Our day will begin at Holkham Hall, a magnificent estate set amidst thousands of acres of parkland. Home to the Earls of Leicester, Holkham is a living masterpiece, with meticulously restored interiors and a charming Walled Garden that dates back to the late 1700s. We'll tour the home and within the 6-acre garden you’ll enjoy greenhouses, an established vineyard, working kitchen garden, a cutting garden, and more. We’ll enjoy lunch together on site.
In the afternoon, we’ll visit the private Old Manor Farmhouse. Prize-winning topiary, knot gardens with thriving boxwood, lanes of pollarded trees, herbaceous borders and lawns, and a formal potager garden are just some of the features to be explored around the 17th-century Dutch gabled farmhouse.
Day 4, Sunday, June 14: DALE FARM, THE BELL, BRESSINGHAM
GARDENS
Our day begins at Dale Farm, a private 2-acre plant-lover's paradise where more than 1,000 plant varieties create a diverse landscape of color and texture. This garden combines horticultural expertise with artistic elements, as sculptures are placed throughout the grounds, creating focal points and surprises around each corner. The garden's highlight is a collection of 150 hydrangeas in numerous varieties—from classic mopheads and lacecaps to rare species and newer cultivars. Paths wind through well-designed borders where unusual plant combinations and rare finds
demonstrate the owners' eye for both botanical interest and garden composition.
Today we’ll have lunch at The Bell, a pub renowned not only for its fine ales but also its delightful garden.
After lunch we'll explore the celebrated Bressingham Gardens. Originally created on farmland to display Bressingham Nursery's perennial plants, the garden now features over 8,000 species and varieties of plants in six linked gardens. Perennial enthusiasts will not want to miss the Dell Garden, created by the founder of the family nursery, Alan Bloom, and featuring the first island beds he installed in 1953. The Dell showcases Alan's revolutionary approach to perennial gardening, with flowing, naturalistic island beds carved into a gentle valley setting, where thousands of herbaceous perennials create waves of seasonal color from spring through autumn. You'll also discover Foggy Bottom, Adrian Bloom's garden featuring ornamental grasses and prairie-style plantings—a living testament to the family's "no-staking, no-spraying" philosophy that transformed how we grow perennials today.
Day 5, Monday, June 15: SANDRINGHAM ESTATE, HOUGHTON HALL
AND GARDENS
This day will begin at Sandringham Estate, the beloved country retreat of the British Royal Family. Tour the elegant Victorian residence and its 60-acre garden estate – particularly exquisite in June – with formal parterres, woodland walks, and the serene lake garden. The estate's kitchen garden, originally designed to supply the royal household, showcases both traditional techniques and modern horticultural practices. We'll enjoy lunch on-site in the elegant visitor restaurant, surrounded by views of the parkland that has welcomed generations of the Royal Family.
In the afternoon, we continue to Houghton Hall and Gardens, one of England’s finest Palladian houses. Constructed in the 1720s for Britain's first Prime Minister, today you can admire its contemporary sculpture park, a stunning walled garden, and extensive parkland famous for its iconic white fallow deer.
Day 6, Tuesday, June 16: ANGLESEY ABBEY, HORSESHOE FARM
In the morning, we will explore the captivating grounds of Anglesey Abbey, Gardens, and Lode Mill. The Jacobean house was once owned by Lord Fairhaven and is now part of the National Trust, and the grounds are among the grandest created in England during the 20th century. The gardens are renowned for their exceptional seasonal interest, and June highlights will include the magnificent 150-yard Herbaceous Border—one of England's longest—which reaches its peak with delphiniums, lupins, and towering perennials in brilliant blues and purples. You'll also stroll through the fragrant English Rose Garden, where climbing and shrub roses create romantic arches and borders at their most glorious. Don't miss the Winter Garden's structural beauty and the historic
Lode Mill, still in working order after centuries of operation.
In the afternoon, join Neil and Claire Callan for a private tour of Horseshoe Farm, their enchanting 3/4-acre plant-lover's paradise. This intimate garden showcases an iris collection, rainbow island beds, and a bog garden. Explore whimsical features like the Fairy Walk, enjoy the tranquil pond with its charming summer house, and climb the lookout tower for sweeping views across the Fenland.
Day 7, Wednesday, June 17: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY BOTANIC
GARDEN, CAMBRIDGE
We’ll begin our day in the delightful Cambridge University Botanic Garden, 40 acres of living plant collections that was originally conceived by Charles Darwin's mentor and teacher, Professor John
Henslow. A treasure trove of over 8,000 plant species, it’s both an academic resource and a peaceful retreat.
This afternoon we’ll experience Cambridge from the water as you glide along the peaceful River Cam aboard a traditional punt on a guided tour. You'll enjoy stunning views of the historic university buildings including King's College Chapel, the Bridge of Sighs, and the Mathematical Bridge, while hearing fascinating stories and local history. As you drift past the famous Backs—the gardens and grounds behind the colleges—you'll see manicured lawns and ancient trees from this unique vantage point that captures one of England's most beautiful university cities from its most scenic
waterway.
You’ll have the rest of the day and evening to explore Cambridge on your own at your own pace.
Day 8, Thursday, June 18: THE WINDMILL, BETH CHATTO’S
GARDEN
We begin with a visit to The Windmill, a remarkable private garden where architectural ingenuity meets botanical beauty. This unique garden has been ingeniously designed around a converted windmill, creating dramatic vertical elements and unexpected planting opportunities. On our June visit you should witness an incredible rose display featuring climbing varieties that spiral around the mill's structure and rambling roses cascading through trees, complemented by clouds of fragrant white wisteria at its peak, draping gracefully from pergolas and buildings. The garden's design takes full advantage of the mill's height, creating multiple levels of planting that offer constantly changing perspectives as you explore this one-of-a-kind horticultural gem.
As we make our way back to London, we’ll make a stop at the garden of one of Britain's most influential plantswoman’s iconic Essex garden. Wander through Beth Chatto’s revolutionary gravel garden, where Mediterranean and steppe plants thrive without irrigation, and discover her
woodland and water gardens that have inspired ecological gardening worldwide. You'll see firsthand how Beth's "right plant, right place" philosophy creates stunning, sustainable displays.
Day 9, Friday, July 19: DEPARTURE
Our time together has ended, but garden lovers always find fresh inspiration wherever they are. Tour members can choose to return home or carry on the adventure.
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