The best gardens to visit in December<\/h2>\nBedgebury National Pinetum and Forest<\/h3>\n
Tom says:<\/strong> \u2018In this month of overindulgence, there\u2019s nothing quite like burning off those extra calories in a beautiful landscape. Even better if it is also home to the world\u2019s most comprehensive collection of conifers. Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest has more than 12,000 specimens planted over 300 acres, and also offers cycle tracks, plenty of walking routes and running trails. With good disabled access, a playground and caf\u00e9, it\u2019s a great day out for the family, and a fabulous place to get some ideas and inspiration for growing conifers.\u2019 Bedgebury Road, Goudhurst, Kent TN17 2SJ. Tel 01580 879820, forestryengland.uk\/bedgebury<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Bedgebury is also hosting after-dark walks, lit up by over a million lights. Read more about 14 fabulous Christmas light shows<\/a> taking place around the country this festive season.<\/p>\n Tom says:<\/strong> \u2018Many years ago, I was blown away by the juvenile yet imaginative winter planting combinations at RHS Garden Rosemoor. The Winter Garden is now an established highlight with a wonderful balance of mature specimens and groundcovering<\/a> associations \u2013 using conifers, evergreens and perennials<\/a>. The plant drifts are substantial, delivering a seasonal spectacle using many winter favourites, including witch hazels, viburnums, daphnes<\/a> and willows.\u2019 RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. Tel 01805 624067, rhs.org.uk\/rosemoor<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n RHS Garden Rosemoor is hosting a Glow light trail this winter. Read more about Christmas light shows<\/a> that are taking place around the country.<\/p>\n Tom says:<\/strong> \u2018Established in 1979, the Cambridge University Botanic Garden continues to be one of the country\u2019s premier winter displays. During the darkest months, our appreciation of colour is heightened and visiting gardens full of shrubs with colourful winter stems<\/a>, scented winter flowers<\/a> and brightly variegated evergreens is a treat.\u2019 1 Brookside, Cambridge CB2 1JE. Tel 01223 336265, botanic.cam.ac.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Tom says: <\/strong>\u2018In December, trees take centre stage in many gardens, and one of the best trees for large and small gardens alike is birch<\/a>. The best place to see birches is Stone Lane Gardens in Devon. This five-acre woodland and water garden on the outskirts of Dartmoor houses the National Collection of wild-origin birches. Kenneth and June Ashburner began the collection more than 40 years ago and now run the garden as a charity, under the stewardship of garden manager and arboriculturist, Paul Bartlett. The birches are planted in accordance to their native provenance, a group of Chinese red birches being particularly spectacular and worth looking out for, along with a large planting of the whitest of birches: Betula utilis<\/em> var. jacquemontii<\/em>.\u2019 Stone Farm, Chagford, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ13 8JU. Tel 01647 231311, stonelanegardens.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By Tom Brown Published: Wednesday, 16 November 2022 at 12:00 am Head Gardener Tom Brown shares his favourite gardens to visit in December. For all our festive content head to our Christmas hub The best gardens to visit in December Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest Tom says: \u2018In this month of overindulgence, there\u2019s nothing quite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":16466,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/11\/the-best-gardens-to-visit-in-december-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/11\/the-best-gardens-to-visit-in-december-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/11\/the-best-gardens-to-visit-in-december-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/11\/the-best-gardens-to-visit-in-december-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/11\/the-best-gardens-to-visit-in-december-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/11\/the-best-gardens-to-visit-in-december-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/11\/the-best-gardens-to-visit-in-december-2048x1366.jpg",2048,1366,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Tom Brown Published: Wednesday, 16 November 2022 at 12:00 am Head Gardener Tom Brown shares his favourite gardens to visit in December. For all our festive content head to our Christmas hub The best gardens to visit in December Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest Tom says: \u2018In this month of overindulgence, there\u2019s nothing quite…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/16465"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2020\/10\/Christmas-at-Bedgebury-2020_Landscape-940d09f.jpg?quality=90&crop=20px%2C122px%2C2440px%2C1625px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><\/strong><\/p>\nRHS Garden Rosemoor<\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2019\/12\/Press-RHS-Rosemoor-5th-February-2018-063961a.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Cambridge University Botanic Garden<\/h3>\n
Stone Lane Gardens<\/h3>\n
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