Gardens to Visit

Around 45 minutes’ drive from Isfryn, just outside Welshpool, you'll find Dingle Nursery and Gardens. It's is a dangerously tempting place for gardeners to explore, but if you want to look rather than buy, the nursery has its own gardens. The 4.5 acre RHS partner garden is especially well known for its colour-themed and unusual planting which includes lakeside, lawned and mixed bed areas that showcase a wide and unusual range of shrub, tree and herbaceous planting. The stream fed lake and the huge array of plant species make this sheltered dingle a haven for all types of wildlife. There are gravel paths to follow, but be aware that the garden is on a slope which can be steep in places.

A short distance away from Dingle is Glansevern Hall Gardens. Its original walled garden boasts flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables and from Spring to Autumn. The criss-crossing paths lined with flowers and herbs lead to follies and hidden corners where you will find everything from borders of lavender and trees laden with apples to the rich colours and aromas of calendula and roses. You can also enjoy the Victorian Grotto and Rockery, the Folly Garden and Wildflower Meadow (seasonal) and a raised Bird Hide on the banks of the River Severn. There is also a Water Garden, Lakeside Walk and Formal Gardens.

Finally, in the same vicinity is the National Trust’s Powis Castle. Dramatic terraces offer stunning views and herbaceous borders to offer gardening inspiration. With an Orangery, an Edwardian formal garden and a peaceful wooded landscape, there is much to explore.

Around an hour north of Isfryn, close to Blaenau Ffestiniog are Plas Brondanw house and gardens, home of Clough Williams-Ellis, the creator of Portmeirion. Plas Brondanw is not a garden bursting with colourful flowers or lush herbaceous borders, it is a garden based on formal structure and designed views of the surrounding mountains. So, although there is more colour in the summer months, the feel of the garden does not change though the seasons. The gardens are laid out as a series of enclosed rooms with views leading to distant peaks. Within the garden rooms, pieces of unusual art and sculptures are arranged, many are architectural salvage which Clough obtained through reclamation sales. There is also a woodland walk, cascade and pool and a folly tower.

For a lovely day out, you can visit the National Trust’s Bodnant gardens, about 1.5hr drive from Isfryn. 80 acres of garden offer graded walks to suit most visitors. The Italianate terraces are renowned for their roses, which bloom from June to October. The garden is famed from its Asian Rhododendrons, many of which are unique hybrids. Wildflower meadows, woodland walks, ponds and formal borders – Bodnant has them all.

For a genuine hidden gem, pay a visit to the garden at Bwlch y Geuffordd, just over an hour's drive from Isfryn and up some very narrow lanes. It's a labour of love - a wild woodland garden created over forty years from what was once bleak moorland. Amongst the trees, you'll find buildings, water features and sculptures, all made by the garden's kind and friendly owners.