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Nothing quite beats a morning, afternoon or day out to a beautiful garden. The Stray Ferret shines a spotlight on five so you’re sure to find one to suit your style – whether you’re a fan of a classically-designed English garden, one inspired by the Med, or a formal garden – there’s something for everyone.

Nestled in the North York Moors National Park, surrounded by the Duncombe Park landscape, Helmsley Walled Garden overlooks the historic Helmsley Castle. This hidden gem not only attracts tens of thousands of visitors as a popular tourist destination and RHS-Partner Garden, but also serves as a charitable organisation supporting more than 100 volunteers.

The garden is divided into a series of small rooms, each leading from the other, taking our visitors on a path of discovery through this enchanting garden. There’s something different to see almost every week of the year, with tulips dotted amongst the apple blossom, bearded irises in the spring and its stunning hot border in the late summer.

Maintained entirely by volunteers, the garden looks to support its community through horticulture. Within the garden’s safe and inclusive space, people gather to nurture plants and to also foster social connections, acquire new skills, and cultivate exceptional horticultural practices. Each volunteer’s contribution, regardless of their background or abilities, plays a vital role in enhancing the garden’s beauty, the visitor experience, and consequently, fostering a sense of accomplishment.

Visit to discover for yourself the tranquil and restorative atmosphere of this beautiful, and colourful, heritage walled garden.

Free for under 16s, £10 day ticket, £15 online or £16 on the door annual ticket, and various special offers available for selected groups – see the website for details.

The garden is open from 10am to 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday April to October, and 10am to 3pm in November, December and March when it operates winter opening times.

Helmsley Walled Garden, Cleveland Way, Helmsley, York, YO62 5AH.

Inspired by the Himalayas, the Himalayan Garden & Sculpture Park is home to one of the North’s largest collection of rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias. The terrain undulates with steep paths in some areas, meandering through 45 acres of woodlands, gardens, an arboretum, and alongside tranquil lakes with a multitude of wildlife.

More than 90 contemporary sculptures are dotted around the park, carefully chosen to enhance the surrounding environment and with a woodland adventure playground it’s great for kids to explore and hunt-out the Fairy Doors. New for 2024 the garden is hosting ‘Sculpture in the Landscape’ an exhibition of 60 new sculptures by artists from throughout the UK.

A wide selection of refreshments are available from the garden tearoom and a programme of creative workshops and events are held at the garden throughout the year. Dogs are welcome on leads. Sadly, the garden is not suitable for people with mobility issues.

Free for children four and under, £13.50 adults, £4 for children aged five to 16 years old, family and annual tickets also available as well as special offers available for selected groups – see the website for details, all garden tickets must be booked online.

The garden is open 10am-4pm, Wednesday to Sunday until November 3, then reopens Tuesday to Sunday from April 2025 – see the website for the exact date.

The Himalayan Garden & Sculpture Park, The Hutts, Hutts Lane, Grewelthorpe, Ripon, HG4 3DA.

Haddon Hall’s Elizabethan walled gardens are a rare survival of the 16th century. Renowned for their beauty, structure and views, the gardens are arranged in a series of terraces, retained by enormous buttresses, that cascade down to the River Wye with seemingly endless views over the ancient parkland and Peak District National Park beyond.

The gardens, originally designed by the celebrated Elizabethan architect Robert Smythson, have an ancient feeling to them. Beautifully carved edging stones are softened by colour-filled herbaceous planting and interlaced with walkways, lawns and topiary.

Arne Maynard, an internationally celebrated garden designer, was commissioned to redesign the Fountain and Bowling Green Terraces. Taking inspiration from Haddon’s tapestries, as well as the Elizabethans’ love of plants, Arne created a deeply romantic garden experience that captures the spirit of the Hall and breathes new life into its unique gardens.

Haddon’s team are inspired by the Medieval and Elizabethan love of gardens and plants and seek to tell their stories in the gardens at Haddon. For example, visitors can witness the flowery mead, topiary, borders, Knot Garden, bowling lawns and walkways. The spirit of place in the gardens is as much about the dramatic stone used to form the terraces and buttresses as it is about the plants that soften their edges.

Free for children 15 and under, £26 for overs 16s and adults, discounts for concession and selected groups – see the website for details.

The garden is open 10.30am to 4pm during March, April, May, September and October, and 10.30am to 4.30pm during June, July, August. The garden is open until October 31.

Haddon Hall, Bakewell, DE45 1LA.

Designed by the much-admired Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf, Scampston is an award-winning Walled Garden and a stunningly beautiful, contemporary garden, quite unlike any other.

Set within the 18th century walls of the original kitchen garden for Scampston Hall, today the Walled Garden has an exciting and unashamedly modern feel to it and complements the adjacent 18th century ‘Capability’ Brown parkland.

The garden had been derelict for nearly 50 years when Sir Charles and Lady Legard undertook the huge renovation task. The Legards enlisted the help of leading Dutch garden designer, Piet Oudolf, and the design for the walled garden was conceived in 1999.

Since opening to the public in 2005, it has received a great deal of international acclaim. Although Oudolf’s planting ideas are now much imitated, the Walled Garden is an outstanding example of how he combines his skill as a designer with his authority and knowledge as a plantsman. It remains his largest private commission in the UK.

A garden guide is provided on arrival.

Free for under-fives, £6.50 for children aged five to 16 years old, adults £10.50. See the website for details. Family and annual tickets also available. Free for RHS members (Fridays throughout the season and the whole month of October) and free entry to Historic House members, RHS members free on Fridays and the whole month of October.

The garden is open 10am-5pm, Wednesday to Sunday plus bank holiday Mondays, until November 3.

Scampston Walled Garden, Malton, YO17 8NG. 

If you’ve not yet been to Beningbrough Hall’s garden, it’s one to put on the list.

Featuring eight acres of formal gardens, including newly created spaces, surrounded by parkland and mature trees. Its two-acre walled garden is the perfect spot to relax in among the flowers while watching the wildlife at work. This year-round garden is planted with visitors in mind; something will always be at its best. Areas take on different styles and seasonally evolve.

New for this year is Beningbrough’s Mediterranean Garden. A previously grassy area has been turned into a new garden space by award-winning garden designer Andy Sturgeon. Explore new pathways, hidden nooks and relaxing seating areas. Witness new beginnings as the thousands of plants, put in place by the gardens team, establish their roots and prepare to flourish in the years to come, while the water features provide a calming backdrop.

Finally, over the winter months don’t miss The Winter Corner that’s located close to the Wilderness Play Area; it’s a place that comes to life as the others sleep.

Free for children under five, £7 for children six and over, £14 for adults, family tickets also available. 10am-5pm most days – see the website for details.

Beningbrough, York, YO30 1DD.

Castle Howard, located in the Howardian Hills just ten miles outside of York, is one of the UK’s most iconic stately homes with gardens to match.

The tranquil Walled Garden features manicured borders, ornamental vegetable patch and beautiful summer blooms. Laid out in the early 18th century as kitchen garden, today part of the garden is still given over to vegetables and cut flowers, but the remainder of the area has been transformed into a garden of roses, dedicated to the memory of Lady Cecilia Howard. The best time to visit is May to September.

Ray Wood, the ornamental woodland garden, hosts an impressive botanical collection from around the world. Ray Wood is a stunning maze of colourful displays with nearly 800 species of rhododendron, wild roses, magnolias, hydrangeas, viburnums, maples and rowans. The best time to visit for rhododendrons is late April to May, and for autumn colours is September and October.

Statues, temples and follies dot the grounds and gardens of Castle Howard. There are 18 lead figures sit amongst the gardens, bought in the 18th century by the 3rd Earl and restored in 1995, with highlights including Apollo sitting on his stone plinth carved with a mountain scene at the end the Lime Walk and The Shepherd Boy, tucked away in a tranquil spot below the South Lake cascade.

Free for children under 36 months then from £4.50-£9 for children and from £9-£18 for adult non-members. Book tickets via Castle Howard’s website and save 10%.

10am-5pm, the gardens are open daily excluding December 25, 2024.

Castle Howard, York, YO60 7DA.