10 UK gardens to visit this bank holiday weekend

Cambridge University Botanic Garden, Cambridgeshire 

This living library, with its series of themed gardens and glasshouses, is beautiful to visit at any time of year, but in early spring the National Plant Collection of diminutive species tulips bursts into life. These wild tulips are perennial, naturalising and have a delicate, beguiling beauty. botanic.cam.ac.uk

Hever Castle, Kent 

The big draw at the former home of Anne Boleyn (and later of William Waldorf Astor, who reimagined all the gardens here) is the eye-popping display of 80,000 narcissi, which have been boosted year on year with help from bulb supremo Johnny Walkers, who has won 25 consecutive gold medals at Chelsea for his stunning daffodil displays. hevercastle.co.uk

Chiswick House, London

The 350-year-old walled kitchen garden at Chiswick House – which donates and sells its fruit, vegetables and flowers – has just reopened. Narcissi- and tulip-filled borders, and spring blossom are set within the wider 65-acre gardens. chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk

Caerhays Estate, Cornwall

There’s no better place to see magnolias, which flower en masse throughout this 140-acre estate on the south Cornish coast. There are 40 species and a further 170 named cultivars here, many of which were planted by the current owner’s great grandfather, JC Williams, in the early 20th century – a tradition continued by each successive generation. visit.caerhays.co.uk

Wollerton Old Hall, Shropshire

This four-acre garden set around a 16th-century hall is formed of a series of jewel-box “rooms” with immaculate topiary and exquisite planting devised by owner Lesley Jenkins, who has created the garden from scratch over the past four decades. Its seasonal opening is on Easter Sunday. wollertonoldhallgarden.com

Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent

Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West planted spring bulbs in their thousands and today the country’s most magical walled garden continues the tradition with carpets of narcissi, fritillaries and a tapestry of spring bulbs lighting up the Lime Walk and the transportive Nuttery. nationaltrust.org.uk

The Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire

Museum gardens have proliferated recently (a subject at the centre of a Garden Museum conference this coming summer) and this one, designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, is one of the finest examples. Thousands of narcissi, emerging tulips and swathes of blue flowers including scilla, puschkinia and anemones, pop up below gorgeous multi-stem blossom trees. hepworthwakefield.org

Iford Manor, Wiltshire

This Grade I-listed garden, set on a bucolic estate, reopens for the season on Easter weekend. Its magical architecture and topiary provides an epic backdrop to beautiful planting by head gardener Steve Lannin. ifordmanor.co.uk

Water Lane, Kent

The only thing better than gardens is great food in gardens. The development of this vast walled garden continues apace, and after you have marvelled at the endless glasshouses, there’s a delicious seasonal menu devised by head chef Jed Wrobel to dig into in Carnation House. waterlane.net

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Newly commissioned compositions by students from the Royal College of Music celebrate the sakura season at Kew, with pieces played around the garden from late March. The site is dotted with blossom trees including the Cherry Walk. You can also see Mat Colishaw’s Petrichor exhibition, which explores the complex relationship between art and nature. kew.org