Passionate Lady Gardeners of Northumberland

6th-9th September - From £485.00

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A group of independent, female and very passionate Northumberland gardeners have combined their four small, private gardens to provide a distinctively different garden experience. The gardeners offer guided tours of their own individual and imaginative gardens with each one giving an unusual insight into the pleasure of gardening in this most beautiful and tranquil corner of rural England.

In the pretty village of Whalton, Penny Norton has inherited all kinds of interesting plants at the Manor House, whose history features contributions from Jekyll and Lutyens. Herbaceous borders and beautiful plantings of mature shrub roses, peonies, wisteria and clematis are key characters in a garden framed by the most elegant architectural features. Over at Mindrum, Ginny Fairfax, a natural artist, has created a large and generous garden with skill and verve. Colours are soft and subtle and the garden is rich in roses, scented plants, wild flowers and remarkable trees.

Maggie Bell's Crook Hall provides a little oasis of colour and tranquillity in the heart of the city of Durham, with a dozen different gardens set around a medieval manor house, each one imaginatively planted to reflect a particular theme. At the Garden Cottage, Heather Russell has woven a rich tapestry of garden features, each with a character and mood of their own. Heather has combined passionate plantsmanship with a very strong sense of design in a delightful contemporary garden.

Finally, we could not organise a garden tour to this part of the world without visiting our friends at the Alnwick Garden, whose inspiration stems from the unbridled passion of the Duchess of Northumberland herself.

We are pleased to offer this holiday in association with Perennial, the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society.

Patio Gardens of Córdoba

7th-10th May, 2013 - From £595.00

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As Monty Don discovered on his world tour, when spring arrives in Andalucia the whitewashed town houses of Córdoba come alive with one of the world's most dazzling displays of floral colour. Hundreds and hundreds of pots, filled to overflowing with geraniums, carnations and jasmines, adorn every available window ledge, staircase and doorway surrounding the patios, the shady inner courtyards so typical of this part of Spain. Locals and tourists alike wander from house to house admiring the astonishing displays, while proud owners keep a careful eye on their handiwork.

We will have two mornings to view the patios, when there are fewer people around, and of course we will also visit three of Córdoba's outstanding monuments, the Great Mosque, one of the most ancient continuously gardened sites in the world; the Viana Palace, which has an extraordinary collection of furniture, porcelain and paintings as well as several patio gardens of its own, and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos with its characteristic terraced pools. We will also have free time to explore this charming city at leisure.

We are pleased to offer this holiday in association with Perennial, the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society.

For further background information you may like to look at the following websites:

http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/patios.htm
http://www.infocordoba.com/spain/andalusia/cordoba/cordoba_festivals.htm#patios
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/mosque.htm