Get outdoors and explore Gloucestershire's best gardens, from historic estates boasting spectacular plantings to English country gardens surrounded by Cotswold countryside.
With some real hidden gems, including the world's highest gravity fountain and a Netflix filming location, discover SoGlos's top 13 gardens to visit in Gloucestershire.
Cowley Manor gardens
Discover Italianate gardens at the heart of 55 acres of Cotswold countryside at Cowley Manor — the perfect setting for a stroll after indulging in the hotel's afternoon tea, walking off your Sunday roast dinner or enjoying tranquility beyond its award-winning C-Side Spa.
Surrounded by meadows and pastures where you can spot llamas grazing, the 19th-century gardens are free to visit and full of unique features. Go searching for the Grade II-listed water staircase, which is comprised of fountains, pools and stone statues and supplied by a delicate stream of water from the seven natural springs that flow through the grounds, before ordering coffee to the terrace and listening to the birds sing.
Sudeley Castle and Gardens
Steeped in history and boasting royal connections, Sudeley Castle and Gardens in Winchcombe has 10 impressive gardens to explore, from Civil War ruins transformed by floral plantings to the historic Physic Garden, peppered with plants that would've been used to make medicines in Tudor times.
The central Queen's Garden — named after the English queens that have walked there: Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Queen Elizabeth I and Katherine Parr, who is buried at Sudeley — is a stand-out highlight. Look for the pattern of its formal Tudor parterre and 70 different varieties of roses, all planted there.
Painswick Rococo Garden
Offering follies, statues, water features and creative planting, Painswick Rococo Garden is the perfect place to see seasonal flowers, with thousands of daffodils in spring and tulips and heritage roses in summer.
Meanwhile, September and October are perfect for soaking up the splendour of Rococo's stunning autumn colours.
Berkeley Castle gardens
Dubbed ‘a calm oasis in a busy world’, Berkeley Castle’s gardens boast a natural wonderland, with rare plants, shrubs and trees, as well as a tranquil lily pond and walled garden which houses its newly opened Kitchen Garden restaurant.
There are also signs from times gone by, including the sloping bowling green where Queen Elizabeth I is thought to have played while staying at the castle.
Westbury Court Garden
Said to be the only restored Dutch-style water garden in the country, visitors can expect to find a place of elegance and calm, with straight canals, clipped hedges, working 17th-century vegetable plots and old-fashioned orchards at Westbury Court Gardens in Westbury-on-Severn.
It's thought to be home to some of England's eldest and tallest trees, too, with its holm oak believed to be the oldest in the whole country.
Stanway House fountain and gardens
See the world's highest gravity fountain right here in Gloucestershire, with Stanway House's incredible 300-feet, single-jet fountain attracting plenty of oohs and aahs from mesmerised spectators!
It's certainly a star attraction but Stanway House's gorgeous 18th-century water garden is worth visiting in its own right. Discover specimen trees, broad terraced lawns and herbaceous borders, against the backdrop of the Jacobean manor.
Badminton Estate
Home to the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort — and featured in Netflix's recent hit series, The Gentlemen — Badminton Estate boasts magical private gardens with something new to discover at every turn.
With glorious displays of roses and borders of soft summer colours, there’s so much to see, including a variety of plants and formal beds designed by landscape architect, Russell Page. Look out for its exclusive open days every spring, summer and autumn.
Sezincote gardens
Bringing a taste of India to the Cotswolds, the Sezincote gardens were restored in 1968 after being neglected during the Second World War and now boast a curving conservatory home to climbing plants, as well as an Indian style pavilion and water garden where many rare plants can be seen.
The 200-year-old Sezincote house is equally enchanting, blending Hindu and Muslim architectural styles to create a Mughal palace that's reminiscent of the Taj Mahal.
Hidcote Manor Garden
Hidcote offers an internationally renowned, Arts and Crafts-inspired garden to explore in the northern Cotswolds, not far from Chipping Campden.
Comprised of several small and surprising gardens, each with their own personality, discover a host of unusual plant varieties, miles of hedges and spectacular colours from Japanese acers at this National Trust gem.
The Garden at Miserden
Overlooking a deer park with views over the undulating Cotswold hills, the Garden at Miserden is famed for its impressively long mixed borders, bursting with roses, climbing clematis and herbaceous blooms.
Spot spirals of dahlias, ancient mulberry trees and sycamores growing through Cotswold stone walls, too.
Kiftsgate Court Gardens
Pruned and perfected over three generations of female gardeners, Kiftsgate is characterised by its bountiful borders and ever-growing Kiftsgate rose, which now cascades over three trees, creating the illusion of a floral waterfall.
Admire the manicured gardens or walk on the wilder side through the orchard and wild garden; while the minimalist water garden, created from an old tennis court, offers a striking point of contrast to the abundance of colour elsewhere!
Cerney House Gardens
One of the Cotswold's best 'secret gardens', Cerney House boasts a romantic Victorian walled garden and woodland trail, with herbaceous borders, trellises of traditional roses and a spectacular display of snowdrops to see in January and February.
It's also home to a medicinal herb garden which celebrates the healing powers of plants and a self-serve bothy, so you can help yourself to refreshments while exploring its characterful features.
Bourton House Garden
Come September when most gardens have run their course, Bourton House Garden's deep herbaceous borders are still blooming beautifully, with a late summer flourish for gardening fans to get their fix before the winter creeps in.
It's stunning throughout the seasons, too, with features including a topiary walk, elegant white garden and a spring-fed water feature from London's Great Exhibition of 1851 — with this hidden gem of a garden even making BBC2's Gardeners' World!
