Barnsdale Gardens
Barnsdale Gardens, near Oakham in Rutland, is gardening without all the usual stately-home nonsense. There’s no vast mansion, no endless gravel drive and no feeling that you need to dress up just to look at a flower bed. What you get instead is a collection of superb gardens that are actually about gardening — imagine that!
Barnsdale was created by the late Geoff Hamilton, the much-loved Gardeners' World presenter, who took an ordinary piece of farmland and turned it into a remarkable collection of individual gardens. His approach was refreshingly sensible: gardens should be attractive, interesting and, most importantly, achievable by normal people without needing a staff of twenty gardeners and a bank manager with a nervous breakdown.There are around 30 different gardens to explore, each with its own character. You'll find cottage gardens, formal planting, woodland, a Japanese garden, kitchen gardens, wildlife areas, herbaceous borders and plenty more besides. The great thing is that they don't all look as though they have been designed with a ruler and a set of instructions from the Ministry of Horticulture. There is room for experimentation, informality and the occasional plant that appears to have escaped its allotted space.
Geoff Hamilton's philosophy is still at the heart of the place. The gardens demonstrate ideas that can actually be used at home, from planting combinations and vegetable growing to wildlife-friendly gardening and making the most of limited space. You come away with ideas rather than simply photographs of things you'll never be able to recreate.
And that's what makes Barnsdale so enjoyable. You can admire the gardens, pinch a few ideas and then convince yourself that you are going to transform your own garden when you get home. Of course, by the following weekend you'll probably be standing in the garden centre wondering why everything costs so much and why your chosen plants don't look anything like they did at Barnsdale.There is plenty here for wildlife too, with ponds, natural areas and planting designed to encourage birds, insects and other creatures. It gives Barnsdale a relaxed feel and avoids the slightly sterile perfection you sometimes find in formal gardens where every blade of grass appears to have been interviewed before being allowed onto the lawn.
For anyone who remembers Geoff Hamilton from Gardeners' World, there is an added pleasure in seeing the place he created. He was never one for making gardening sound like some mysterious art available only to those with a greenhouse the size of an aircraft hangar. He made it accessible, practical and enjoyable, and Barnsdale remains a very good example of that philosophy.
You really need a few hours here rather than treating it as a quick stop. There is plenty to see and the gardens change considerably through the seasons, so repeat visits can be worthwhile. And, naturally, there is a garden centre, because apparently even the most disciplined gardener is incapable of leaving a garden without buying another plant.Barnsdale Gardens isn't grand in the traditional sense, but that is precisely its strength. It is friendly, practical and packed with good ideas, and it feels like a place created for gardeners rather than simply for people who like looking at expensive gardens.
Verdict: A cracking collection of gardens and a fitting legacy to Geoff Hamilton. If you like plants, gardening or simply wandering around somewhere that has been thoughtfully created without taking itself too seriously, Barnsdale is well worth visiting. Just remember: buying a plant is not the same thing as successfully keeping it alive.
Opening Times:- March to October Gardens and Nursery: 09:00 – 17:00 (Last entry at 16:00) November to February Gardens and Nursery: 10:00 – 16:00 (Last entry at 15:00) Open every day except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
General admission costs £16.00 per adult, and under-18s enter for free. There is no need to book in advance.
Prices correct as at September 2016
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