You may also like<\/strong><\/p> \u201cI\u2019m getting more Italian as I get older,\u201d says designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd<\/a> about her own garden at Gresgarth where a geometric arrangement of steps and terraces leads down to meet the lake on the southwest front of the house. The design may be formal but the planting is rich, lush and passionate.<\/p> Gresgarth Hall<\/a> For more than a decade in the first half of the 20th century, the brilliant architect-designer Cecil Pinsent worked with Iris Origo on her garden at La Foce in Italy\u2019s Val d\u2019Orcia. Were they in love? \u201cHe was. And I was,\u201d said Iris Origo. \u201cBut not at the same time.\u201d Around the villa, a series of intimate gardens are enclosed by yew hedges and walls of gorgeous travertine stone. At a higher level, a pergola swathed in wisteria<\/a> gives staggering views out over the vale.<\/p> La Foce<\/a> Humphry Repton, the great 18th-century landscaper, worked at Endsleigh and in the valley to the west of the house you catch the essence of his genius. Water charges under paths, tips down rock faces and meanders obediently along leats. \u2018Of all picturesque subjects there is none so interesting as Water in rapid motion,\u2019 he wrote. Endsleigh has a quality that is increasingly difficult to find in a garden: romance and a strong spirit of place.<\/p> Hotel Endsleigh<\/a> Marqueyssac overlooks the Dordogne, one of a clutch of battlemented ch\u00e2teaux that glare at each other from their respective peaks. The garden was created by Julien de Cervel, who adored Italy and made this place as close to his Italian dream as he could manage. The result, more than 150 years on, is spectacular: molten box topiary under tall cypresses and umbrella pines.<\/p> Les Jardins Suspendus de Marqueyssac<\/a> When you cross the stone bridge over the river to Dundonnell in Scotland, you arrive in a different world. First are the trees \u2013 huge limes, beech and sweet chestnuts, as well as sycamore and ash. Then the house, superbly strong, white-harled, standing in a meadow of long grass. Then the walled garden, three acres of inspired beauty arranged around a monumental yew, thought to be at least 2,000 years old. Thrilling. Astonishing. Dundonnell House<\/a> Architect Clough Williams-Ellis lived at Plas Brondanw<\/a> in Wales for more than 70 years, gradually surrounding himself with architectural topiary and all\u00e9es of box and yew, curling flights of steps, fountains, and the best vista in Britain, ending in the peaks of Snowdonia. For him, the place became a passion \u201can obsession if you like,\u201d and romance still lingers in this wonderful place. Discover more with our feature on Plas Brondanw<\/a>.<\/p> Plas Brondanw<\/a> Bolfracks tells you immediately that it is a much-loved garden, beautifully looked after and impervious, quite rightly, to fashion. It has a quiet peace and self confidence, the planting still singing of the 1950s: cherries, acers, berberis, good species rhododendrons. The twig house makes a romantic hideaway.<\/p> Bolfracks<\/a> You may also like<\/strong><\/p> When I let myself into the garden at Miserden, it was so still, so enclosed in its own bubble of tranquillity, I thought I might have tripped into a golden afternoon of the Edwardian era. Generous herbaceous borders run down either side of a central lawn: echinops, plume poppy, inula, stately spires of delphinium. A pergola of roses and a wide yew hedge shield a kitchen garden. Timeless. Gorgeous.<\/p> Miserden Park<\/a> To British eyes, the extraordinary garden at Lotusland in Santa Barbara, California, is like a giant film set for the Disney film Fantasia<\/em> with weird but wonderful cacti, superb succulents, rare cycads, flowering aloes and a forest of dragon trees. The only thing more extraordinary than the garden itself, with its Moorish rills and lotus pools, is its creator, the self-styled Madame Ganna Walska (1887\u20131984), who spent the fortunes of six husbands making this place. Not to be missed.<\/p> Directions to garden given when booking a visit.Most romantic gardens to visit<\/h2>
Gresgarth<\/h3>
La Foce<\/h3>
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Endsleigh<\/h3>
Marqueyssac<\/h3>
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Dundonnell<\/h3>
Plas Brondanw<\/h3>
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Bolfracks<\/h3>
Miserden Park<\/h3>
Lotusland<\/h3>