This archipelago of some 140 islands basks in the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic. The islands’ powdery, white, sandy beaches and warm microclimate, give them a sense of being much further from the rest of Great Britain than they really are.
Only five islands in the Isles of Scilly are inhabited, with the ‘main’ island of St Mary’s being reached by plane from Newquay or Exeter airport, or by helicopter or ferry from Penzance, the closest town. Once you’re there, hop between the islands using the boat services that make the regular short trips. The entire archipelago is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – the UK’s smallest – with flowers spangling the countryside and palm trees backing the beaches.
For gardeners visiting the Isles of Scilly however, the most enticing attraction has to be Tresco Abbey Garden, on the island of Tresco. Tender plants thrive in this near frost-free location, making it a fascinating place to see species more commonly found much farther afield.
Tresco Abbey Garden was created in the 19th century by Augustus Smith, who carved three terraces from the rocky, south-facing slope that looks towards neighbouring St Mary’s. While the hotter, drier terraces suit South African and Australian flora, those lower down favour plants from New Zealand and South America. Fringing the paths is a mix of succulents, soaring palm trees and giant, post-box-red flame trees. Spot the show-stopping king protea and the handsome lobster claw (heliconia), walk among the blue spires of echium, yucca-like furcraea and bright-pink pelargoniums.
STAY A short walk from St Mary’s harbour, the family-run Star Castle Hotel is housed in a 16th-century, star-shaped castle.
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With my bookshelf groaning under the weight of unread review books, I have declared an emergency Reading Week. Reading Week at university is a bit like half term – the lecturers get a week off teaching, and the students are supposed to use it to catch up on their reading list. When I went back to uni to do my Masters I dreamed of spending a lot of time reading, with the wealth of the university library on hand. The reality was there was never any time to ready anything that wasn’t immediately essay-related, which was a shame.
I don’t generally watch Gardeners’ World these days, but two weeks ago they broadcast a special edition (episode 20 in this year’s series) as part of the BBC’s Big British Asian Summer, exploring South Asian influences on British gardens. Monty Don ‘hosted’ the show from the stunning gardens of Europe’s first traditional Hindu temple, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London. The stonework for the temple itself was all carved in India, then brought to London to be assembled. Flowers, particularly the sacred lotus, are represented throughout the decorative motifs. Mountains of flowers are used in the temple’s religious ceremonies, and I was intrigued to learn that – in India – there are businesses based around recycling temple flowers into products such as incense sticks, soaps, and eco-packaging, to reduce their environmental impact. At the London temple, the gardens are a fusion of a European parterre-style design, with Indian motifs, colourful flowers, and a delightful lack of symmetry.
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Bloomcore, also known as flowercore, is an aesthetic trend that is just right for gardeners. It embraces the natural world, and most importantly, flowers. Putting nature first, it creates a pretty, flowery look both indoors and outside in the garden.
Mary Ann Van Berlo has been gardening on this 2.4-acre riverfront lot since fall 2012. The yard was still a construction site when she moved in, so all the gardens were installed after that.
Yes, we’re talking about mint! The breath-saving, tummy-taming, taste-boosting mint. At Fantastic Gardeners, we love this refreshing plant, and why wouldn’t we? It is fragrant, easy to grow, and has many beneficial uses in culinary arts, medicine, and cosmetics.
In Yorkshire we are lucky to have several gardens designed using the theme of a Himalayan Garden. The Hut near Ripon at Grewlthorpe is  ‘The Himalayan Garden’ with all the plants you would expect in such a setting including
Britain has some of the best gardens in the world. The choice of which to visit is far larger than this selective list but at least it gives you somewhere to start planning this years outings.
In the cold wet winter it is a good time to plan where to visit as the year improves. The South West is the obvious place to start your visiting tour of gardens containing exotic plants.
Harlow Carr the RHS garden in Harrogate has a series of gardens through the ages. This sculpture is part of the offering for the Festival of Britain 1951. To me it looks a lot more modern than that but certainly none the worse.