Rachel Mead compiles this list of blooming wonderful gardens in Somerset to visit this spring
American Museum & Gardens
The gardens at the American Museum are unique in the UK and represent some of the most iconic movements in American landscape design. In spring, the contemporary New American Garden, designed by Oehme van Sweden, is full of seasonal energy with swathes of prairie planting in lush green growth, over 50,000 narcissus in bloom, plus pops of muscari, tulips, fritillaria, cherry blossom and rising lunaria and foxgloves. In Mount Vernon – a replica garden from George Washington’s famous house outside of Washington, DC – you’ll find fresh shoots in the vegetable beds that supply the new American Garden Deli. There is also a dell, arboretum, amphitheatre and children’s garden, as well as a wilderness trail and parklands for further exploration. Located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the hilltop site takes full advantage of the spectacular views over the Limpley Stoke valley, set in 125 acres of green, rolling topography. The museum also hosts the Rare Plant Fair on 21 May.
americanmuseum.org
Barrington Court
Late spring is a truly wonderful time for all the senses at Barrington Court. Feast your eyes on the beautiful displays of tulips and wallflowers in the White and Lily garden. Take in the heady scents of the magnolias, azaleas and wisteria in the formal garden while you listen to the birds as they gather nesting material and feed their young. Take a stroll through the blossoming orchards too.
nationaltrust.org.uk
Dunster Castle
The gardens at Dunster Castle are known for their diversity of plant, with sub-tropical, Mediterranean, and temperate plants beside the river, in herbaceous borders, and on terraces. Spring highlights in the garden include carpets of fragrant wild garlic in the River Gardens, bursts of cherry and hawthorn blossom, colourful spring borders on the South Terrace, and the unusual Handkerchief Tree, which flowers in late April and was brought to Dunster by avid plant collector Alys Luttrell in the 1920s.
nationaltrust.org.uk
East Lambrook Manor Gardens
April is a good time for blossom in East Lambrook, with the displays from the tall Magnolia in the White Garden and a relatively young handkerchief tree, Davidia involucrata ’Sonoma’. By the entry gate there is a magnificent native Bird Cherry, Prunus padus, with its white racemes of flower. One of the signature plants in the garden, Euphorbia characias subspecies wulfenii, is in bloom throughout the garden with the variety ‘Lambrook Gold’, named for the garden, can be seen in the Silver Garden. This looks amazing next to blue muscari and bright red tulips under the ancient variegated Acer by the house. Other signature plants beginning to appear are astrantia major and hardy geraniums. The earliest, geranium malviflorum with attractive blue flowers, is a fleeting visitor in April as, being summer dormant, it soon disappears underground.
eastlambrook.com
Forde Abbey
With over 50,000 tulip bulbs planted, it is going to be a big bang of colour at Forde Abbey from April to mid-May as they host a Tulip Extravaganza. Also, home to the highest-powered fountain in the country, the award-winning gardens include topiary lined vistas, colourful herbaceous borders, an arboretum and a bog garden, which together with those swathes of early spring bulbs and camellias provide all year-round interest for keen gardeners. The in-house Plant Nursery stocks a wide variety of rare and unusual perennials and is free to enter for all visitors. Forde Abbey hosts a Spring Plant Fair on the April 1, stocking plants locally grown from across the south-west. The coffee shop is renowned for its homemade cakes and light lunches along with the well-stocked gift shop with local pottery and produce.
fordeabbey.co.uk
Fyne Court
In the garden look out for the pink magnolia in bloom, bright Welsh poppies and golden daffodils, as well as forget-me-nots, alliums and wallflowers. Along the woodland trails, come late April, there will be row upon row of beautiful bluebells carpeting the ground. You’ll also be able to spot wild garlic, red campion, buttercups and daisies. Spring is breeding season for woodland birds like blue tits and great tits – listen out for their calls. April is the best time of year to hear the dawn chorus.
nationaltrust.org.uk
Greencombe Gardens
A woodland garden and organic showpiece of international renown, Greencombe extends along a sheltered hillside below the tree-covered slopes of Exmoor and offers outstanding views over ancient fields onto Porlock Bay and the sea beyond. On display throughout the garden are four National Collections; erythronium, small mountain-lilies; vaccinium, 'whortleberries worldwide'; gaultheria, 'whortleberries for bears'; and polystichum, the 'thumbs-up' fern. Also of special interest, the garden is home to a champion English holly tree (ilex aquifolium), the largest and oldest in the British Isles. While most of the plants have been carefully placed in their present positions, the garden gives the impression that it just occurred and that paths wander around plants that already existed.
greencombe.org
Hestercombe Gardens
Experience 50 acres of quintessential Somerset gardens, near Taunton. Spanning three centuries of garden design, the 50 acres of Hestercombe Gardens offer a unique combination of a Georgian landscape garden, a Victorian shrubbery along with Edwardian formal gardens. Visiting in April and May will give you the opportunity to enjoy the bluebell walk along with other spring bulbs, early flowering shrubs and wildlife spotting.
For children’s Easter activities, Bessie the blackbird will be creating her very own egg hunt around the formal gardens from the April 1-16. Follow the clues on the eggs to find the golden egg where you can claim your prize.
hestercombe.com
Lytes Cary Manor
The garden at Lytes Cary really comes to life in late spring. The borders are starting to wake up from winter, with lupins, iris and peonies coming into their own throughout the garden. Walk out from the formal garden into the orchards to see a mass of beautiful flowering cherries and a range of blossoming top fruit trees underplanted with a carpet of breath-taking mauve camassia.
nationaltrust.org.uk
Milton Lodge
With stunning views of Wells Cathedral, Glastonbury Tor and the Vale of Avalon, Milton Lodge Gardens open its gardens to visitors again from Good Friday onwards. There are many terraces to explore here and at this time of year be sure to enjoy the Ginkgo biloba underplanted with naturalised spring bulbs and wild flowers which provide a colourful display for the months of April and May. The spring meadow is also a highlight at this time of year. National Gardening Scheme days for 2023 are the May 7, June 4 and July 2.
miltonlodgegardens.co.uk
Montacute House
Montacute House in spring is a gardener’s delight. As you enter you are welcomed with a show of mixed bulbs including narcissi, muscari and tulip ‘Claudia’. There is also the stunning fritillaria imperialis maxima ‘Lutea’. The main borders in East Court put on a good display of tulips this time of year and there are tulip ‘Appledoorn’, ‘tulip Banja Luka’, tulip ‘Golden Appledoorn’ which give a blast of colour. Keep any eye out for other narcissus in the garden including narcissus ‘Ice Follies’ and narcissus ‘Thalia’.
nationaltrust.org.uk
The Newt in Somerset
After March’s sowing efforts, the flowers will begin to bloom, and wildlife at The Newt in Somerset’s gardens will be showing new signs of life with birds nesting, bees pollinating and garden inhabitants waking from winter hibernation. Snowdrops appear to mark the end of winter and beginning of spring, offering a sign of hope for brighter days ahead. Daffodils, tulips, wallflowers appear to unveil the first flush of colour in the formal gardens and seasonal fruits and vegetables, such as rhubarb and asparagus, are grown in the impressive kitchen garden. At this time of year Andy Lewis, who leads the fruit team on the estate, is busy pruning and grafting their precious apple trees which produce the apples used to create their incredible selection of cyders. Seasonal garden walks and workshops are available to book online.
thenewtinsomerset.com/garden
Prior Park Landscape Garden
Spring 2023 will be the first opportunity to see Prior Park Landscape Garden in full since the completion of the dams restoration project. Reflections have been restored in the middle lake and all the shrubberies have been planted with new shrubs which will be bursting into life. There’s plenty of blossom to see with cherry and elderberry trees dotted throughout the garden, wild garlic in full bloom down the woodland path and wildflowers springing up all over the Pasture.
nationaltrust.org.uk
Stourhead
Just over the border, lies Stourhead Landscape Garden. This season, lakeside paths are adorned with the pinks, reds and blues of different varieties of rhododendrons, and magnolia trees can be admired up close along the pathway edges. In the Walled Garden, admire the abundant display of seasonal spring bulbs, you can also look out for the purple rock cress cascading down the old stone walls. Across the wider estate, swathes of bluebells can be found in wooded areas, with Bonham Wood being the best spot to admire them.
nationaltrust.org.uk
Somerset Lavender
With April and May being really good times to get lavender in the ground have you considered a visit to the working lavender farm just outside Bath? With more than 25 varieties of lavender for sale, along with other herbs and perennials, Somerset Lavender welcomes visitors to their flower and vegetable gardens. Keep an extra eye out for the lupins! With no entry fee (the team only ask for donations towards the upkeep of the fields) you are invited to freely roam through their acres of purple lavender. There’s a café onsite, along with a farm shop which also stocks lavender infused products and hanging baskets ready to display at your home.
somersetlavender.com
Tintinhull Garden
Tintinhull is truly a gardener’s paradise, and spring is no exception. You will first be met by a magnificent wisteria flowering freely on the wall of one of the barns. Birdsong fills the air as the magnolias come into flower in Cedar Court, underplanted with crocus, hellebores and omphalodes. The beautiful matsumae cherries in Eagle Court and the Middle Garden imbue the air with a heady fragrance, accompanied by the peaceful soundtrack of the Fountain Garden pond.
nationaltrust.org.uk
Tytnesfield
Relatively unchanged since 1900, the garden at Tyntesfield is varied, ranging from large open lawns and formal terraces, to a historic orangery and working Kitchen Garden. With formal displays of spring bulbs, tender bedding plants and over 10,000 flowers, the terrace's ornamental flowerbeds create a colourful contrast with the Victorian Gothic house above them. Heading out beyond the gardens and into the woodland at this time of year offers a great opportunity for enjoying bluebells and spring buds, as well as spotting spring fungi.
nationaltrust.org.uk
The Walled Garden at Mells
April in the Walled Garden at Mells is the best time to start treating yourself to some new plants for your garden and get them bedded in ready for the summer. Tucked away amongst the ruins of an old rectory you’ll find the historic garden which divides the grounds between a non-profit community nursery and a rambling garden with café. At this time of year, it feels like the garden grows a couple of feet each week with many new things coming to life. The apple blossoms are in full bloom and the ostrich ferns are starting to unfold around the hellebores and tulips. Visit in May and the garden comes into its own with a riot of colour. The plant nursery specialises in cottage garden perennials, herbs and seeds with the sales supporting a range of social and therapeutic programs aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of local people across the community.
thewalledgardenatmells.co.uk
Yeo Valley
With six and a half acres of Soil Association certified ornamental and edible plants in a seasonal patchwork, Yeo Valley’s organic garden has a strong emphasis on confident planting and quirky fun. This year will also see a new series of garden workshops taking place in the meadow yurt.
yeovalley.co.uk
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