Our top winter gardens

Blow away the cobwebs and enjoy a refreshing walk in a frosty winter garden. Stroll through tranquil landscapes glittering in the winter sun. Discover bright winter berries and late-flowering shrubs then cosy up in one of our tea-rooms with some delicious winter warmers.

Here are our top gardens to enjoy this winter:

Visitors walking over the Oxford Bridge on a frosty day at Stowe Landscape Gardens

Stowe, Buckinghamshire 

Winter is the perfect time to see this monumental garden. There are more than 250 acres of garden to explore, with lakes, classical temples, winding paths and wooded valleys created by some of the greatest figures in garden design and architecture, including Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and William Kent.

Take a winter walk at Stowe
The Winter Walk in February at Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire

Anglesey Abbey, Garden and Lode Mill, Cambridgeshire 

Designed specifically with plants that give winter colour, texture and fragrance, the garden at Anglesey Abbey is alive and vibrant during the cold months. Discover bright yellow and red dogwoods and the polished bark of the Tibetan Cherry. Enjoy the scent of winter flowering honeysuckle floating in the breeze and look out for the slender white trunks of the Himalayan Silver Birch Grove.

Discover fragrant winter plants at Anglesey Abbey
Dyffryn house in the snow

Dyffryn Gardens, Vale of Glamorgan 

Discover Dyffryn Gardens’ enchanting series of intimate outdoor rooms. Wander through the arboretum past bright red holly berries and discover the winter roses on a winding walk down the paths. Warm up in the glasshouses where you’ll find a bright and airy vinery, a cacti house and a tropical-feeling rainforest blooming with orchids and banana trees.

Stroll through Dyffryn Gardens this winter
Explore the outdoors this winter at Sizergh

Sizergh, Cumbria 

With winter comes the opportunity to discover Sizergh’s newly created stumpery. The twisted trunks of the Acers in the rock garden are laid bare amongst the limestone and iced-over rock pools. Take in the seasonal planting in the garden, showcasing coloured and textured bark as well as winter berries and bulbs.

Frost on the ruins at Fountains Abbey

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, Yorkshire 

See the magnificent ruins of the Cistercian abbey stark against the winter sky at this breath-taking World Heritage Site. The beautiful landscaped Georgian water gardens create mirror-like pools that reflect the planting around them. Enjoy the gardens for longer in one of our 11 holiday cottages on the estate, from apartments in Fountains Hall to a large house in the deer park.

Irises in bloom in the winter garden at Dunham Massey

Dunham Massey, Cheshire 

The Dunham Massey winter garden is the largest of its kind in the UK. Take a winter stroll to see striking white-stemmed silver birches and bright dogwood barks as well as colourful berries and flowers. Beneath the trees, thousands of bulbs spring to life over the cold season, including snowdrops, white cyclamen and striking blue winter irises.

The winter garden at Mottisfont, Hampshire

Mottisfont, Hampshire 

Mottisfont’s winter garden has matured into a beautiful and unique landscape, full of horticultural treasures. Brilliantly coloured dogwood bark and silvery ornamental bramble provide splashes of colour alongside berries and fruit even on the shortest days of the year. As winter continues, the garden becomes a refuge for other late flowering shrubs such as mahonia, sweet-smelling winter honeysuckle and daphne.

Delight your senses in Mottisfont's winter garden
Colby Woodland Garden in the snow

Colby Woodland Garden, Pembrokeshire 

During the winter months Colby welcomes a surprisingly rosy colour palette. The edges of the meadow are lined with red dogwood and in the walled garden you’ll find pink hellebores. White bark birch trees sparkle in the winter sun and the aptly named rhododendron ‘Christmas Cheer’ is in flower from late January.

Discover rosy colours at Colby Woodland Garden
Crisp winter grasses at Bodnant Garden, Conwy

Bodnant Garden, Conwy 

With colourful and fragrant plants, Bodnant’s winter garden brightens up even the coldest of winter days. Discover coloured-stemmed birches, bright bergenias and bulbs such as snowdrops, iris, cyclamen and crocus. Enjoy the scent of winter shrubs such as hamamelis, daphne and sarcococca.

Stroll through a winter wonderland at Bodnant
A view of Clumber Park in winter

Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire 

With nearly 4,000 acres of green open space and over 20 miles of cycle routes, Clumber is the perfect place for a winter adventure. Don’t miss a photo opportunity at the beautiful Clumber chapel, with its 180 foot spire and Gothic architecture. Take a stroll down Limetree Avenue and marvel at the majestic double lime trees that sparkle in the winter frost and sun.

China in Winter

Biddulph Grange Garden, Staffordshire 

Biddulph Grange Garden showcases plants from all over the world amid rockwork, topiary and an extraordinary collection of eclectic garden buildings. Take a stroll through the Pinetum during the winter months where the path weaves its way between conifers, hollies, yews and monkey puzzle trees.

The Temple of the Winds surrounded in snow at Mount Stewart

Mount Stewart, County Down 

Mount Stewart’s gardens lie within a natural amphitheatre sheltered from strong winds, giving them a unique micro-climate. Discover white and pink winter-flowering rhododendrons, vibrant ‘Trewithen Blue’ flowers and bright yellow witch hazel. Magnolia and camellia come into flower early at Mount Stewart so visit from mid-January for an early taste of spring.

Discover Mount Stewart in winter
Winter berries by the American Border at Osterley, London

Osterley Park and House, Middlesex 

Meander through the ever-evolving Winter Garden at Osterley which provides bursts of coloured bark, fabulous leaf shapes and seed heads in abundance. Covered in a thick haw frost, every branch and berry is defined. A highlight at this time of year is the Clematis Urophylla ‘Winter Beauty’. Its fragrant, waxy, white bell-shaped flowers shoot through lush green foliage even in the depths of winter.

Enjoy bursts of colour at Osterley this winter
A little girl sitting on a stone seat at Rowallane Garden, County Down

Rowallane Garden, County Down 

As other plants start to hibernate, a range of winter scented shrubs come to life at Rowallane Garden. Take a stroll among winter flowering viburnums, mahonia and the fragrant yellow flowers of witch hazel. Discover the Walled Garden, the electric blue bandstand in the Pleasure Grounds and enjoy a tranquil walk around the famous Rock Garden Wood.

Discover winter scents and colours at Rowallane
Tiny yellow acconite buds

Polesden Lacey, Surrey 

Polesden Lacey is home to one of the first ever winter gardens, designed by the late English botanist Graham Stuart Thomas. The garden is bright with colour in winter, with beds of yellow aconites beneath Persian ironwood trees, which produce blood red buds. Look out for the enchanting displays of snowdrops that bloom throughout the garden in late winter.

Explore Polesden Lacey's enchanting winter garden
Robin rests on a fence at Dyrham Park

Dyrham Park, Gloucestershire 

Bright blue porcelain berries and vibrant red dogwood provide splashes of colour between the trees at Dyrham in winter. Take a wander through the crisp grasses in the perry pear orchard and enjoy picture perfect scenery as you look towards St Peter’s Church. Follow the serpent path alongside the ponds back towards the courtyard garden where you might even spot a few robins darting about.

Morning sunlight coming through the columns of the Temple of Apollo at Stourhead

Stourhead, Wiltshire 

Stourhead is a beautiful, tranquil place to visit during winter. In this world famous landscape garden the magnificent lake reflects the classic temples, mystical grottos and swathes of surrounding trees. The buildings and statues in the garden are a key part of Henry Hoare II’s carefully constructed views. They form focal points around the lake, as if in a living painting.

Killerton's grade I listed chapel with a blanket of cyclamen, Devon

Killerton, Devon 

Winter is a great time to visit Killerton’s gardens, with vibrant colours and far-reaching views rewarding those who brave the frosty air. A visit to the Chapel is a must in late winter, as the grounds bloom with bright pink winter flowering cyclamen. Enjoy the red colours of berries and pink sasanqua camellia around the garden. Why not extend your stay and enjoy a holiday in Killerton Park Cottage?

Trelissick garden Cornwall countryside view in Winter

Trelissick, Cornwall 

With the mild maritime climate at Trelissick early flowering rhododendrons and camellias bring colour to the garden from February onwards. The borders are scattered with hellebores, cyclamen and snowdrops and the river views are framed and silhouetted by last year’s rhododendron mop heads and towering trees. If it gets too chilly there’s always somewhere to shelter in the summerhouses.