Of life’s more laborious of pursuits, gardening is high up there. Rewarding, yes, but inescapably time consuming. Why not instead, then, spend that precious time (and money) marvelling at someone else’s horticultural mastery and de-weeding efforts. The esteemed garden designer Rosemary Very’s vibrant tulip beds and Laburnum Arch at Gloucester’s Barnsley House, say, or Cliveden’s topiary maze. Britain’s hotels have some of the finest gardens in the world, from the stately, misty-deer-park standard to the soft, bucolic cottage variety, where meadow flowers tickle mottled stone walls and rose gardens lead to romantic reading benches and waterfalls.
And as violets and anemones spring into action and blossom smothers the countryside in candyfloss profusion, there has never been a better time to visit a UK hotel with a knockout garden. From the stately, Capability Brown, misty deer park standard to the soft, bucolic cottage variety where meadow flowers tickle mottled stone walls and rose gardens lead to trickling waterfalls and reading benches. These days walled garden bounty is increasingly plucked for the hotel chefs and mixologists, whether it’s grilling fresh vegetables for a hearty spring salad or infusing cocktails with botanicals. And as violets and anemones spring into action and blossom smothers the countryside in candyfloss profusion, there has never been a better time to visit a UK hotel with a knockout garden. A room with a bloom, a cacophony of bird song and all that botanical serotonin without lifting a green finger? What’s not to love.
