Barnsdale Gardens are an unusual public space in that there are 38 different gardens to visit — each intended to provide inspiration for your own. It’s sort of a theme park for gardeners.

Barnsdale is the creation of the late Geoff Hamilton, a freelance landscape gardener well-known across the pond for his many television appearances, including on “Gardener’s World”.

The various gardens at Barnsdale range widely in formality and choice of plants. Here are just a few. The Stream and Bog Garden uses an artificial pond and stream to show water-loving plants. The Rose Garden showcases more than 50 varieties of the flower. The Ornamental Kitchen Garden (pictured, above left) shows that the edible can also be ornamental. The newest, a Garden for the Less Mobile, features raised beds. The Apple Arch, perhaps the most popular, shows that various apple varieties can be trained to form a decorative archway.

(Photo courtesy of Barnsdale Gardens)

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