flora garden tours guide you to the finest gardens in britain. as well as the famous english stately homes and gardens the tours visit lesser known but lovely ones, some rarely open to the public. the tour director and leader is dr barbara sommerville, a biologist of international repute who has a deep interest in the history of gardening, landscape and architecture.newby hall gardens this tour begins and ends at the studley hotel in harrogate. in yorkshire we visit one of the finest of english gardens at newby hall near ripon as well as smaller gardens like the late the late sibyl spencer's renowned adel garden.the english lakes are renowned for their scenery, glorious at all times of year but spectacular in the spring and autumn. rhododendrons thrive on the rocky outcrops and in the shade of ancient trees. clematis montana and wisteria festoon the stone cottages. read morethe cotswold hills, lying between birmingham to the north and oxford to the south, are renowned for their picturesque honey coloured stone-built villages. here we visit some world-class english gardens commemorated in the names of famous flower and fruit cultivars such as blenheim palace, hidcote manor and kiftsgate court. there are also the homes of famous gardeners like beatrix havergal at waterperry, who ran one of the first horticultural colleges for women, and prince charles at highgrove.
