Summer is the perfect time for lazy strolls and gentle walks in National Trust gardens that are bursting with colourful planting. Spend sunny days meandering along tree-lined paths, through formal gardens and historic parterres to admire fragrant displays of roses alongside impressive herbaceous borders filled to the brim with vibrant flowers. Discover weird and wonderful tropical plants being cared for in greenhouses and orangeries. Explore shady orchards, home to heritage varieties of fruit trees, and stroll through informal wildflower meadows buzzing with insect life and supporting wildlife habitats. Espalier trees bask in the warmth of walled kitchen gardens, which are bursting with seasonal produce. Everything from salads to squashes are often harvested and used in the on-site cafes, where you can also find refreshments from ice creams to tea and scones! Soak up the tranquillity of summer gardens as you relax on grassy lawns and reflect by ponds and lakes with a picnic or a good book. Each garden is looked after by a team of National Trust staff and volunteers and is planted to not only add colour and interest for visitors, but to support wildlife. The conservation charity is also doing more in these green spaces to adapt to the impacts of climate change. To celebrate the quiet, relaxing days of early summer, the National Trust has pulled together a list of the best places for a serene stroll in some of the most beautiful gardens in Norfolk: Blickling Estate, Norfolk The gardens at Blickling are stunning over the summer months. The Parterre was redesigned in the 1930s by Norah Lindsay, a renowned gardener and socialite, and the look and feel she created is still visible today. Norah was attentive to colour, using it as a painter uses a palette. She established a magnificent display of herbaceous plants in graduated colours in the four large beds – from pink, blue, mauve and white nearer the house, to a concentration of yellows and oranges towards the east. Norah loved roses, and each of the main beds is encircled with colourful scented roses, a real seasonal highlight. In the shelter of the Parterre’s southern wall, the long border features more subtlety-coloured plants, providing a quieter backdrop to the main beds from June to September. If you’re looking for welcome shade on sunny days, head up into the wilderness. This area of the garden is more structured than its name suggests, with a geometric layout of trees, wild grasses and sheltered pathways to wander through. Look out for the garden team as they begin the annual task of trimming the ancient yew hedges, starting on the main drive in August before moving on to trim the acorns on the Parterre in September The Walled Garden, as featured on ITV’s Ainsley’s National Trust Cook Off, really comes to life in July and August. A huge range of soft fruits and vegetables can be seen growing using the ‘no dig’ method of gardening – from strawberries and raspberries to onions, peas, beans, tomatoes, aubergines, cucumbers, chillies, squashes, kale and potatoes. Flowers such as cat mint, sunflowers, oregano and verbena attract a range of pollinators, including bees from the hives in the orchard. With their bright, bold blooms in a range of colours, sizes and shapes, the dramatic collection of dahlias lights up the Walled Garden borders from August into the autumn. After a walk around the gardens, head to the Stables café for refreshing drinks and light bites or to the shop, where plants inspired by Norah Lindsay can be purchased. nationaltrust.org.uk/blickling-estate Felbrigg Hall, Gardens and Estate Step into the Walled Garden at Felbrigg this summer and be transported to an oasis, bursting at the seams with heady colour, fragrance and textures. As well as the double borders and trained fruit trees that it is renowned for, there are surprises around every corner, from resident animals to sculptures of all sizes. Arranged in three parts, it is the Bacchus Garden that greets you with its climate resilient plantings including fan palms and jewel-toned flowers edging the gravel paths. Step through elegant brick arches into another slice of gardener’s paradise, with a lily pad studded pond at its centre. The Octagonal Dovecote is one of the few working dovecotes in the country, dating from the early 1750s and still sheltering a flight of cooing doves. The Kitchen Garden bulges with produce as vibrant vegetables including kale, leeks and rhubarb grow in neat rows, alongside abundant tangles of squashes and gourds. Fluffy-legged bantam chickens happily scratch about on pest control duty while bees buzz from their hives in The Nuttery beyond, with its winding paths mown through tall grasses among the nut trees. Beavering away in both the Walled Garden and the West Garden surrounding the hall, you’ll find the garden team weeding, dead-heading, tidying borders, grass cutting, cropping, re-sowing, planting and hedge trimming – but always happy to answer a question or offer a green fingered-tip. Experience Felbrigg’s Walled Garden in a new light this summer with a series of after-hours Bio-sonification Live events, featuring real-time collaborations between musician and gardener Martin Noble-James and plants from the garden. nationaltrust.org.uk/felbrigg Oxburgh Estate Come and connect with the great outdoors and get up close to nature as you explore the gardens at Oxburgh Estate this summer. Full to the brim with pollinator friendly perennials including scented heritage roses, and beautiful delphiniums, the Herbaceous Border is the perfect space for a quiet moment of contemplation whilst you indulge the senses in the sounds and smells of the season. This year, the Kitchen Garden has been planted with seasonal produce mirroring its Victorian heyday as well as demonstrating the wonder of vertical growing in smaller spaces – chat to one of the garden team whilst you are visiting, and they will be delighted to share more about the ongoing restoration of this beautiful space. The heritage fruit trees in the Orchard also mirror those grown at Oxburgh in Tudor and Victorian times and provide a perfect spot for relaxation as the breeze ripples through the branches. The project to restore the ancient French inspired Parterre is ongoing and it provides the perfect settling to take in the views of the swans and their cygnets swimming across the moat. Picnic blankets are available to borrow, deck chairs adorn the lawns, and both the Pantry Café and Servants Hall tearoom are open so you can grab an icy cold drink or an ice-cream to enjoy too! nationaltrust.org.uk/oxburgh
