We’re enjoying a wonderful and prolonged spell of pleasant weather right now in North Wales; some of us have even heard the utterance ‘spring has sprung’ out on the street and, you know what? We think they could be right!
With Easter just around the corner and the weather finally looking up there’s just one thing we want to do - get out of the office and into the great outdoors!
We’re really lucky, living here, to have so much choice when it comes to spending time outside - of course, there are the beaches, woodlands and mountains that make North Wales famous but, did you know, we’re home to some of the most beautiful formal gardens in the UK too?
Festival time!
If you’ve never visited North Wales for its gardens then 2016 is definitely the year to do it. This year the region hosts the very first Festival of Gardens, taking place from Saturday 28 May to Sunday 5 June 5. The event is a celebration of all things horticultural and aims to enlighten and educate visitors with a packed programme of events at no less than 27 beautiful gardens, stretching from Wrexham to the Llyn Peninsula. There’s never been an event like this in North Wales and we’re really excited to visit some old favourites as well as some, as yet, undiscovered garden gems ourselves.
Each day of the festival sees a full schedule of activities taking place at several gardens in the region. There are almost thirty gardens taking part in the festival including some of North Wales’s most treasured gardens, such as Portmeirion and Bodnant, and some less well known (but just as beautiful), including the Centre for Alternative Technology, Pantperthog, and the Nanhoron Estate, Pwllheli.
Just a few of the events taking place:
- Walks with the Head Gardener;
- Musical recitals;
- Gardening and photography workshops;
- Theatrical performances;
- Historical re-enactments;
- Walks with plants;
- Children’s trails;
- Lectures and exhibitions.
Whether you’re a keen gardener or just love a stroll in beautiful surroundings the Festival of Gardens North Wales has something to appeal to all tastes.
If you’re visiting the region before the festival, you’re still in for a treat! Although most gardens are open all year round spring is one of the best times to see them in full, flowering splendour. But with so many gardens to choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice. To get you started on your garden journey of discovery, here are three of our all time favourites.
Bodnant Garden – Tal-Y-Cafn, Conwy
The jewel of Welsh gardens is undoubtedly Bodnant Gardens. Quietly presiding over the majestic River Conwy and spanning more than eighty acres, this National Trust site is lovingly referred to as one of the most exquisite gardens across all of Britain.
Springtime is always a hive of activity at Bodnant and this year’s no different. As well as old favourites, including the snowdrops in the Old Park Meadow and the world-famous camellias, the flower beds that were installed last year are just beginning to come to life. The Vanessa Bed has been redesigned by Bodnant’s student gardeners with an exciting new display and, near the Terrace, the Poppy Bed is currently awash with gorgeous Himalayan primulas. Over Easter, Bodnant are running a series of family-friendly events around the garden, including ‘Kite-Making Thursdays’ and the scrummy Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt!
Plas Cadnant - Menai Bridge, Anglesey
The Hidden Gardens at Plas Cadnant aren’t as secret as they used to be. Recently, the garden hit the headlines after suffering terrible damage in a winter storm but, thanks to the hard work of a dedicated and loving team, it’s due to reopen in time for Easter.
Restoration on the gardens at Plas Cadnant has been ongoing for almost 20 years so it’s understandable how heartbreaking damage wrought by Storm Eva was to owner, Anthony Tavernor. The walled garden and valley garden were wrecked by a ‘tidal wave’ of flood water rushing down from the Snowdonia Mountain Range on Boxing Day 2015. Rare plants, beds, walls and garden ornaments were destroyed or washed away in the flood, threatening to ruin all the team had laboured to achieve over the years. Thanks to an outpouring of local and national support, rebuilding and replanting soon got underway and the gardens are once again preparing to welcome visitors.
Plas Cadnant officially reopens on Wednesday 23 March, just in time for Easter. The team still have a lot to do but there’s plenty to see and enjoy in the meantime. We hope you can go along and show your support for this very special North Wales garden too!
Portmeirion, Pwllheli
Used as a location for the 1967 TV series ‘The Prisoner’, Portmeirion is a great place to visit for its cult status alone! Built by architect, Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, between 1925 and 1975 in a distinctive Italian style, the village, gardens are an absolute delight and a total surprise to many visitors not expecting a little piece of the Italian Riviera on the Welsh coast! North Wales’s westerly position means our gardens benefit from the warm, moist weather brought by the Gulf Stream, making the area particularly well-suited to cultivating Mediterranean and tropical trees and plants. This is most evident at Portmeirion, which is home to a fine collection of magnolias, azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias as well as an array of sub-tropical trees, including ginkgo biloba, monkey puzzles and cabbage palms.
Right now, Portmeirion’s fabulous collection of rhododendrons and magnolias are getting ready to bloom. You can enjoy the spectacle whatever the weather, with many planted around the town’s piazza, viewed from the comfort of the resort’s Caffi Glas!