Herb gardens

Herbs look and smell fantastic, but they’re also endlessly useful. Continuing an age old tradition, the herb gardens of today provide plants for dying cloth, flavouring food and curing common ailments.

At Chesters Walled Garden in Northumberland a carpet of pink, red and white thymes (the National Collection) weaves along a 30 metre bed alive with bees. Stroke the aromatic leaves of sage and rosemary in the Mediterranean Border, heady with scent. Hadrian’s Wall, nearby, has inspired an intriguing section packed with herbs grown by the Romans.

For a herb garden in a formal setting visit Pitmedden Garden in Scotland. On a terrace above the Great Garden is an immaculate box-edged parterre, filled with period herbs. Mounds of lavender, rosemary and cotton lavender – all in cultivation during the 1600s – billow out over compartments of coloured gravel.

Birds, butterflies and insects are all attracted to the new herb garden at the Royal Horticultural Society Wisley Gardens in Surrey. Here a circular theme draws the visitor around beds of mouth-watering mints, parsleys and coriander (to name but a few).

Herbs thrive alongside honeysuckles and lilies in central London at the Geffrye Museum herb garden. This wildlife oasis is a magnet for visitors too. An amazing 170 herbs spill out from the formal beds and the scent is overwhelming. Delicious!

Get your Great British Heritage Pass

For any of you garden lovers or those planning a history or heritage themed trip around Britain, the essential "buy before you leave" product is the Great British Heritage Pass. Providing free entry into over 580 castles, gardens and stately homes across the length and breadth of Britain, it really is the key to unlocking Britain's secrets.

For full details and to order click here.