Greenway, Devon

Leaning against the Georgian-style vine house, which dates from the early 19th-century, the potting shed at Greenway is likely to have been established in stages, starting off as an open structure with a lean-to-roof and gradually added to over the years.

© NTPL / Stephen Robson

During author Agatha Christie's time as owner, from 1938-1959, the potting shed gathered a display of red rosettes as the gardeners' entries at the local Brixham show won year after year, except for one cup, which Agatha herself provided, and for which they were strictly not allowed to enter.

Lindisfarne Castle, Northumberland

On a wild island, isolated by the turn of the tides, three upturned boats have been turned into sheds, an innovative way of recycling old hulls when they are no longer seaworthy and an unusual storage space for the gardeners' tools.

© NTPL / Joe Cornish

Lindisfarne is home to the smallest garden ever designed by Gertrude Jekyll, a handkerchief of colour on a windswept canvas, set some way from the castle on the brink of the sea. The boat sheds are currently undergoing restoration following a serious fire in October 2005

Basildon Park, Berkshire

In honour of the American soldiers who trained on the grounds here during the Second World War, and the 60th anniversary of VE day in 2005, the Head Gardener recreated a wartime allotment on the spot where an Anderson shelter once stood.

© NTPL / Stuart Cox

The area is now to be transformed into a cutting garden for the 18th century house.

Tyntesfield, Somerset

During Victorian times, garden boys used to sleep in this potting shed, in cots above the work bench, getting up every few hours to stoke the coal boiler that heated the glasshouses.

© Lynn Keddie

The shed is still in daily use, and both the original cots and shelving remain. It is one of several sheds on the estate serving this busy working garden - one was used to prepare produce for dispatch to the Gibbs family’s London house.

Monk's House, East Sussex

Virginia Woolf's writing shed at the edge of a churchyard provided an escape from the world. Looking out across the downs and valley of the river Ouse, it was where she found her final refuge.

© NTPL / Eric Crichton

Inside the weatherboard building, known as The Lodge, Virginia's diaries and photographs are now on display, along with her desk, and the lamp that she used to write by.

Words: Tamsin Hope-Thompson