2-for-1 gardens in Gloucestershire

More on 2-for-1 gardens around the UK:

2-for-1 Gardens

Batsford Arboretum

Set on a Cotswold hillside just outside the village of Moreton-in-Marsh, this world-renowned tree collection provides inviting walks and breathtaking views across the Evenlode Valley. Stroll along meandering paths beneath spreading branches and leafy canopies to dappled glades, secret corners and open grassy meadows, beside pools and a cascading stream, over bridges and past intriguing statues. Along the way you’ll meet a host of magnificent trees, shrubs and bamboo from across the world, especially the Far East, including many rare and outstanding specimens. There are notable collections of Japanese flowering cherries, magnolias, acers, sorbus, oaks and pines. Native wildflowers thrive here too, including orchids, bluebells, wild garlic and foxgloves.

• Disabled access: full
• Dogs: allowed on leads
• Single visitor discount: yes
• Refreshments: light and hot food

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Bourton House Garden

Spectacular borders billow with rich colour all summer – vibrant perennials mingling with a huge array of tender stars, including ruby-leaved bananas, tropical cannas, dahlias, succulent rosettes of aeoniums, orange tithonias and the pendulous bells of abutilons. The many container displays throughout the garden provide further bursts of exotic colour, while clipped topiary, sculpted hedges and mellow Cotswold stone walls are the ideal counterpoints. On a cooler note, the knot garden is a green oasis, centred on a round pond, and the white garden features elegant borders laced with snowy Japanese anemones, spiky sea holly and fragrant nicotiana. Throughout, the floral crescendo builds over the summer months to a magnificent finale in September and October, before the first frosts.

• Disabled access: partial
• Dogs: not allowed
• Single visitor discount: no
• Refreshments: light

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Cerney House Gardens

Hidden in a wooded valley not far from Cirencester, this Cotswold garden is centred on a large Victorian walled garden. Inside its wrought-iron gates you’ll find lavender-lined paths, a laburnum arch, a wide selection of vegetables, soft fruits, espalier trees trained on the walls, an intricate knot garden, and a romantic, billowing medley of flowers that fill the air with scent. Beyond the walls there is plenty more to explore – an orchard, rose walk, wooden gazebo and a herb garden of culinary and medicinal plants. Less formal areas include a wildflower bank and woodland walk with many fine trees, a ruined chapel and nature trail. The garden opens early in the year, so you can enjoy the spring bulbs that bloom throughout the borders and in the woodland, which is carpeted with snowdrops in January and February, then native bluebells a few months later.

• Disabled access: partial
• Dogs: allowed on leads
• Single visitor discount: no
• Refreshments: light

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Cotswold Sculpture Park

These ten acres of informal woodlands are an idyllic showcase for a selection of exciting, contemporary sculptures, in a wide range of styles. It’s the perfect place for a relaxing walk among the trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grassy glades, gardens, ponds and abundant wildlife. Following the meandering paths, you’ll discover the many innovative, beautiful and intriguing artworks, carefully positioned to complementing and enhance the surrounding nature. You’re sure to find plenty you love, with a touch of humour and surprises along the way.

• Disabled access: partial
• Dogs: not allowed
• Single visitor discount: no
• Refreshments: light and hot food

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Highnam Court Gardens

Just outside Gloucester, these extensive Victorian gardens have been lovingly restored and enhanced with new features over the past 25 years. With richly planted borders, elegant walks, topiary, statues, fine trees, lawns and lakes, there’s lots to discover and enjoy. Areas range from a formal knot garden to the sunny south terrace and potager kitchen garden. The large oval rose garden features over 2,000 roses of all kinds, providing romantic colour and scent across the summer. In the parterre, low box hedges enclose square beds of lavender, roses and spring bulbs. In contrast to the formal areas, there are eight acres of wildflower meadows, a picturesque waterlily lake, woodland and a shady fernery.

• Disabled access: partial
• Dogs: allowed on leads
• Single visitor discount: no
• Refreshments: light

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Kiftsgate Court Gardens

High on a Cotswold escarpment, these gardens have been tended and enhanced throughout the past century. They comprise a series of interconnecting gardens, set on several levels to make the most of the stunning location. On the terrace, large terracotta pots overflow with exotic plants, while in the white sunk garden a mix of flowering shrubs and perennials are set around an elegant fountain. More recent additions including a contemporary water garden and wild garden. Most famous of all must be the swimming pool lawn, with its semi-circular pool overlooking the Vale of Evesham. Kiftsgate is also renowned for roses and its sumptuous double border of old-fashioned, species and modern roses is a summer highlight. The original ‘Kiftsgate’ rambling rose still grows here too – a spectacular sight in early July covered in cascades of small white blooms.

• Disabled access: partial
• Dogs: not allowed
• Single visitor discount: yes
• Refreshments: light

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Painswick Rococo Garden

Created in the 1740s as a fanciful pleasure garden for parties and socialising, this is the country’s only complete surviving rococo garden. Today it retains its original whimsical charm and informal character, dotted with quirky follies, now restored and resplendent, designed to surprise and delight. These mainly gothic-style structures, set in the landscape to catch the eye, include the asymmetrical Red House and, most striking of all, the Exedra, a gleaming white, arched and pinnacled curving façade. Walking trails help you explore Painswick’s woodlands, meadows and sweeping views. Beneath the trees, swathes of snowdrops bloom through winter in their millions, followed by bluebells and other wildflowers. There is also a maze to explore, and a large kitchen garden with heritage vegetables, 18th-century flowers and an orchard of apples and pears.

• Disabled access: partial
• Dogs: allowed on leads
• Single visitor discount: yes
• Refreshments: light

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Puzzlewood

In the historic Forest of Dean, near the Wye Valley, Puzzlewood is a place for adventure, exploration and imagination. This ancient woodland is lush, leafy and full of atmosphere, with towering trees and arching branches overhead, and feathery ferns, bluebells and wild garlic carpeting the ground. Twisting, undulating paths lead you among native oaks, beech and yews, between rocky outcrops and gullies, up steps and over rustic bridges, deep into the heart of the wild wood. Some trees grow directly on the mossy rocks, their roots clinging and exposed, while fallen logs sprout curious fungi, among rustling autumn leaves. Keep your eyes peeled for the many birds and more elusive woodland creatures, such as deer, foxes and rabbits, or set your imagination free and conjure up goblins, wizards and dragons among the gnarled trunks and rocky crevices.

• Disabled access: none
• Dogs: not allowed
• Single visitor discount: no
• Refreshments: light and hot food

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Sudeley Castle & Gardens

In the heart of the Cotswolds, laid out around a picturesque castle, is a series of ten beautiful formal gardens full of history and romance, reflecting the location’s rich and tumultuous past. Climbing roses adorn the ruins of the 15th-century banqueting hall, partially destroyed by Cromwell’s troops, while the remains of the ancient tithe barn are now the setting for a picturesque flower garden with wisteria, hollyhocks and a koi pond. The castle’s royal connections have inspired several areas, including the queens’ garden, where more than 80 rose varieties create a fragrant summer retreat, and the knot garden, whose intricate design of box hedges is based on the pattern on Elizabeth I’s dress in a portrait hanging in the castle.

• Disabled access: partial
• Dogs: not allowed
• Single visitor discount: no
• Refreshments: light and hot food

Visit Sudeley Castle & Gardens