If you’re a lover of garden centres and flower shows, take your love to the next level and revel in the natural glory of a botanical garden. Fortunately, the United Kingdom is perhaps the best country in the world for its variety of public gardens, so you will definitely be spoilt for choice.

That might sound like a problem – how on Earth do you choose? – but luckily for you, we’re here to help. Here’s five of the best.

No list of botanical gardens would be complete without the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, more commonly known as Kew Gardens. Possibly the most famous public garden in the world, it’s certainly one of the very best – it has an incredible arboretum and recently added a superb canopy walkway, allowing you to walk to the treetops for fantastic views.

It covers more than 300 acres of land, so there’s more than enough to keep you occupied the whole day through.

Another of the world’s most well-known botanical gardens (by now, you should already be seeing why the UK is so fortunate), Sissinghurst in the Weald of Kent was created by a husband and wife as a public declaration of their love. 

It contains the ruin of the Elizabethan manor house, the estate is truly beautiful. Make time to take in the tower and the prisoner of war exhibition, but don’t miss the rose garden or the famous white garden!

A slightly more eccentric garden than most – but still remaining decidedly Victorian – Staffordshire’s Biddulph Grange is remarkably reminiscent of a real-life version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, mixing Chinese pavilions and an Egyptian tomb with the more traditional aspects of an English garden.

Relax by the lake or take in the glorious dahlia walk, at its best towards the back end of summer. There's even a recreated Himalayan glen, plus a number of secret tunnels!

Ness Botanical Gardens [http://www.nessgardens.org.uk/]  has managed to combine research with beauty – as a part of the University of Liverpool, many of the plants here are studied intensely. This has led to a collection of more than 10,000 types of plants, one of the most interesting collections in Britain.

Make sure you take a stroll through the lovely wildflower garden, but above all, take a picnic with you: taking in the views of the Dee estuary while you eat is a real treat!

Westbury Court Garden is, in a word, unique. In the UK, Westbury is the only surviving Dutch water garden, and for this honour alone it would be worth visiting, but thankfully the whole place is marvellous. The 17th Century garden is home to one of the country’s oldest holm oaks, and the fruit and vegetable plots as just as they were 300 years ago.

In summer you can play croquet on the lawn, but in autumn you may sample their famous apples – the choice is yours! You can even buy some of the fruit and veg to take home with you.

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