Springtime is certainly a beautiful time of year anywhere in England. Its also the time which makes many of us want to get out into our own gardens. So how about a trip to some lovely gardens in Wiltshire to give you some inspiration?

Stourhead Garden is a splendid place to start. Henry Hoare, the owner from 1741 to 1785 set about surrounding the house with a country style garden so that it would blend into the beautiful landscape around it. The Palladian Bridge set over the huge lake gives a view across to the Pantheon. It is a garden inspired by 18th centure artists and is certainly a picture itself. Exotic flowers were added over the years and spring is an excellent time to see the best from the blooms.

A different but equally satisfying garden to visit is the Abbey House Gardens, in Malmesbury. Once belonging to the Benedictine Monastery, the Abbots garden produced herbs, fruit and roses in abundance. Lovingly restored the garden has an original feel. The Knot Garden has been created in lavender, wall germander and also box and there is certainly a mediaevel feel to the garden as you wander through its arches, rose beds and raised beds. Alot of work has gone into this project and deserves to be seen

The Courts Garden at Holt was originally created between 1900 and 1921. A peaceful seven acre garden with pools, hedges, lawns, orchards and a variety of interesting plants, each seem to blend one into the other. A variety of colour and intrigue is around each bend and unusual topiary, it is easy to see why some have described this as Wilthire's best kept secret. Why not see what the secret is all about?