![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-52101232-b1b1dd9.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>In spring and early summer, Highgrove greets its visitors with the spangled mauves, whites and yellows of orchid, buttercup, alliums and wild parsley in the four-acre Wild Meadow. It is a testament to the King\u2019s organic principles and his early collaboration with the pioneering naturalist Miriam Rothschild.<\/p>\n
The meadow is cut for hay in in autumn and then grazed by sheep, who create a moving tableau, framed by the fastigiate hornbeams that bring formality to this rural scene.<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-169957760-bac0624.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Quirky topiary frames the views of the house itself down the long Thyme Walk, with plump pudding shapes in golden yew. A snail, a spiral and \u2013 of course \u2013 a crown owe their individuality to each gardener being given a bush to shape.<\/p>\n More related content:<\/p>\n Hay meadow.\/Credit: Getty<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> Drawing on traditional English gardening, the Old and New Cottage Gardens also surprise with inspiration drawn from the colours of Tibet in a planting scheme designed by Charles III and the late Rosemary Verey, doyenne of English horticulture.<\/p>\n A Victorian-inspired stumpery of ferns and upturned roots by award-winning designers Julian and Isabel Bannerman provides a damp green setting for a magnificent Gunnera manicata set atop a two-metre stone tower.<\/p>\n Emerging from the deep shade onto oak dappled lawn, David Wynne\u2019s sculpture of the Goddess of the Woods sits contemplating temples appropriately crafted from green oak.<\/p>\n An arboretum reflects the king\u2019s commitment to sustainability with acer, beech and cherries underplanted with over 40,000 snowdrops complementing sweet woodruff and dog\u2019s mercury buried for decades in the cool earth.<\/p>\n Serving delicious teas, scones and lunch options, The Orchard Room is open to guests who have explored the gardens. For special occasions, you can even book a \u2018Champagne Tea Tour\u2019.<\/p>\n Visit Highgrove Gardens<\/a>: Opening times vary. Book a guided walk or garden tour from \u00a322<\/p>\n Set within deer-grazed parkland and surrounded by five centuries of gardens, Hatfield House is a vision of England\u2019s past.<\/p>\n Here the young Elizabeth I received news of her sister\u2019s death and her own royal destiny, here she held her first council of state, ushering in the Elizabethan age.<\/p>\n It was Robert Cecil, son of Elizabeth\u2019s most famous adviser, who built the \u2018new\u2019 Hatfield House in 1607.<\/p>\n Anxious to impress his new king, James I, Robert employed John Tradescant, gardener and plantsman, to seek out rare plants from across Europe.<\/p>\n Tradescant travelled to nurseries in the Low Countries for rare bulbs and fruit trees to embellish Hatfield\u2019s gardens with fine blossoms and exquisite scents, which still inspire the gardens of today.<\/p>\n Recreated in the 1980s, the knot gardens of the Old Palace are now complemented by the colour-themed Edwardian borders and the new Sundial Garden created to celebrate 400 years of the Cecil family at Hatfield.<\/p>\n Set against the north front of the house, the magnificent kinetic water sculpture \u2018Renaissance\u2019 references the automata and \u2018giochi d\u2019acque\u2019 (water jokes) beloved of Elizabethan garden creators.<\/p>\n Inside the house a carved wooden stair post depicts Tradescant himself, replete with rake, basket of fruits and a jaunty hat.<\/p>\n In the Marble Hall a portrait of Elizabeth I details her bodice richly embroidered with honeysuckle, pinks, roses and violets echoing the planting in Hatfield\u2019s gardens, while outside Elizabeth and her courtiers still haunt the Lime Walk in a life-sized stone frieze.<\/p>\n Visit Hatfield House<\/a>: Gardens open from 1 April, house from 1 June. \u00a312 for gardens and park; \u00a322 for house, gardens and park.<\/p> Centuries of royal gardeners have transformed this riverside palace to a playground for monarchs and a delight for horticulturalists.<\/p>\n Henry VIII led his wives through richly patterned knot gardens alive with gilded heraldic beasts, before tempting them into domed banqueting houses with views far along the Thames.<\/p>\n William III and Mary II brought designers from Holland to lay out the formal Privy Gardens, now recreated after meticulous archaeological excavation. Replete with statues and clipped topiary, gilded screens from French master craftsmen allow glimpses of the world beyond.<\/p>\n Three rectangular gardens beyond the Privy Garden reflect the 16th-century fishponds located here to serve the palace kitchens but by the late 17th century re-purposed to shelter exotics including oranges, myrtles, oleanders and aloes.<\/p>\n A vine planted by the great 18th-century designer Lancelot \u2018Capability\u2019 Brown has its own vast glasshouse and in late summer visitors can feast like royalty on the sweet fruits before tackling the famous Hampton Court Maze, created more than 300 years ago and still confounding its modern visitors.<\/p>\n Brightly coloured annual bedding drew holiday crowds in the 19th-century Queen Victoria, opened the gardens to the public in 1838, while long herbaceous borders attracted artists in the palace\u2019s Edwardian heyday, when the river thronged with pleasure craft bringing trippers to the palace gardens as it once brought Tudor courtiers, and now brings 21st-century visitors.<\/p>\n Inside the palace Henry himself appears in portrait, while his wife Catherine Howard runs through the haunted gallery pleading in vain for mercy from the man who once led her round his gardens.<\/p>\n Visit Hampton Court Palace<\/a>. Opening times vary. Entry: \u00a326.10 for palace and gardens.<\/p>\n A glorious celebration of gardens awaits visitors to this much-loved country retreat of the British royal family.<\/p>\n Set within 600 acres of waymarked parkland, the House and adjoining gardens have been developed by each monarch since 1863, when Queen Victoria purchased the estate for the-then Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) and his new wife Princess Alexandra of Denmark.<\/p>\n A new house was constructed for the couple, surrounded by formal parterre gardens, forming a backdrop for family tea parties on the balustraded terrace.<\/p>\n More related content:<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> South of the house, an immense rock garden planted with exotic trees and shrubs shelters Queen Alexandra\u2019s Summerhouse, set beside a cascading stream feeding into the lake below.<\/p>\n A walk continues through sweeping lawns towards the walled gardens that once supplied the royal kitchens, now a mix of flower beds and grass.<\/p>\n In 1947, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe designed a formal garden to the north of the house for George VI, which Jellicoe described as a secret garden based on \u201cthe Chinese conception of a box within a box within a box\u201d.<\/p>\n In 2023, King Charles III chose designers \u2018Landform\u2019 to create a sustainable garden on the site of the old parterre gardens. Pink and yellow roses will join 5,000 yews and 4,280 herbaceous plants and bulbs to create a rich source of pollen for insects, as well as seasonal colour for visitors.<\/p>\n Visit Sandringham Estate<\/a> Opening times vary. Entry: \u00a313 gardens; \u00a323 house and gardens.<\/p>\n Rising from the still, reflective waters of its encircling moat, this fairytale castle was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII.<\/p>\n It was Henry\u2019s passion and Anne\u2019s insistence on marriage that altered the course of English history.<\/p>\n With the fall of the Boleyn family, the house and grounds slept until awakened by William Waldorf Astor, whose wealth and imagination recreated a lavish Tudor home and gardens in 1904-8.<\/p>\n With a passion for history and antiquities, Astor commissioned a series of gardens spread over 125 acres to house his collections of Italian sculptures and classical antiquities. Over 1,000 men worked on the grand design, which took four years to construct, including the 38-acre lake.<\/p>\n Jets of water sparkle in the sun from the immense Loggia fountain, a cascade gushes down stone steps while cool grottoes drip in the shade, and the Half Moon Pond reflects the sky in its still waters. A splashing Water Maze on Sixteen Acre Island delights children and adults alike in true Renaissance style, while the Millennium Fountain brings us up to date.<\/p>\n But history is never far away and the magnificent Yew Maze, topiary garden and Anne Boleyn\u2019s Walk recall the heyday of the Boleyn family.<\/p>\n Plant-lovers will thrill to the restored 100-metre herbaceous border and the rose garden with more than 5,000 bushes.<\/p>\n Inside the house, Viscount Astor\u2019s vision brings to life the happy childhood home of the girl who would be queen for a thousand days, and the religious tensions that led to her downfall.<\/p>\n Visit Hever Castle<\/a>: Opening times vary. Entry: Garden \u00a319.05; castle and gardens \u00a323.10.<\/p>\n With more than 100 acres of ornamental gardens, peaceful waterways and picturesque glens, Hillsborough Castle is a year-round attraction with a host of events for all the family.<\/p>\n Owned by the Anglo-Irish Downshire family from the early 1600s, the grounds have been the focus for magnificent entertainments from the 19th century onwards.<\/p>\n Sold to the British Government in 1925, it became the Governor\u2019s residence, home to visiting dignitaries and royalty. Queen Elizabeth planted a magnolia tree here as part of her Coronation celebrations in July 1953, which formed the focus for floral tributes on her death in 2022.<\/p>\n Since 2018, Historic Royal Palaces have transformed the castle and grounds as a major visitor destination.<\/p>\n A reimagined four-acre walled garden with central pavilion provides a sensory delight with herbaceous borders, apple orchard and seasonal produce.<\/p>\n![\""Wild\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1029949510-fef26ba.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"Wild\\"\/")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>Hatfield Park, Hertfordshire<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-104295420-3722816.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Hampton Court Palace, London<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-1250447864-f0093cb.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-1010011408-8cd5597.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C412"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Sandringham Estate, Norfolk<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-184289386-f5e5ee3.jpg?quality=90&resize=601%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Hever Castle, Kent<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/Hever-Castle-6bf414f-e1678298125422.jpg?quality=90&resize=603%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-92233603-33b78ab.jpg?quality=90&resize=592%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nHillsborough Castle and Gardens, Northern Ireland<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-540170596-89512d8.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2023\/03\/GettyImages-1141443836-147878c.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>