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See history in full bloom

Take a stroll through an English Heritage garden this month for garden tours, expert tips and live demonstrations

From rolling parkland and stunning vistas to elegant parterres and working kitchen gardens, English Heritage looks after some of the most magnificent gardens in the country. Visit this month, and you’ll see history in full bloom with sweet-smelling roses, royal myrtle and freshly clipped topiary. Check out the Blooming Gardens events happening across the country.

Here’s the pick of the top gardens to visit while these exciting Blooming Gardens events are going on.

Osborne

Take a stroll around this vast seaside estate and see why Queen Victoria chose to spend her summers at Osborne, calling it her 'paradise'. Don’t forget to look out for Osborne's famous myrtle, which featured in Meghan Markle's bridal bouquet when she recently married Prince Harry.

Wrest Park

Explore this vast showcase of three centuries of landscape design with French, Dutch, Italian and English garden styles. Highlights include the views down the Long Water to the beautiful Pavilion, the recently replanted formal parterres and Ladies Lake.

Walmer Castle and Gardens

Given to the Queen Mother for her 95th birthday in 1997 and influenced by her favourite colours and styles, the Queen Mother's Garden was designed by celebrated landscaper Penelope Hobhouse. See if you can spot the tadpoles that live within the 95ft pond, before they become froglets and toadlets perching on the lily pads.

Audley End House and Gardens

Walk across rolling pastoral parkland designed by the famous 'Capability' Brown. And don’t forget to explore the elegant parterre garden and organic kitchen garden, which nurtures a variety of fruit and vegetables, including apple, pear and plum trees, as well as herbs, flowers and grasses.

Witley Court and Gardens

Experience the ornate parterre bedding and enchanting Victorian wilderness of this beautiful garden. It will be hard to miss the grand Perseus and Andromeda fountains, which are compared to Rome's Trevi Fountain and those at the Palace of Versailles near Paris.

Brodsworth Hall and Gardens

Discover the Victorian gardens with Italian statues, ornamental flower beds, water features and an exotic summer parterre. Stop by the unusual Fern Dell, filled with terraces and rock alcoves with an incredible variety of ferns, giving it a prehistoric feel. Then walk through the Rose Garden, with its 45-metre pergola draped in scented roses, honeysuckle and vines intertwining to form an impressive walkway.

Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens

This Grade-I listed garden is one of the most picturesque garden landscapes in England. Based on the ancient quarries of Sicily, the dramatic series of ravines and corridors of the Quarry Garden provide solace for a number of rare and unusual plants. And don’t miss the wild flower meadow where you’ll find exotics alongside native species.

Mount Grace Priory, House and Gardens

Explore 13 acres of newly rejuvenated Arts and Crafts gardens and roam the room-like spaces of the terraces and dell garden, with borders redesigned by award-winning gardener Chris Beardshaw. Then venture further into the meadows and also the orchard, planted with traditional Yorkshire varieties of apple trees.