Do NOT miss Kew gardens. They have specimins of plants from around the world. The British were (and are) consumate gardeners, and extensive travellers. My favourite? The medicinal herb garden. If you go to Scotland you should stop by Princes Street Gardens (just below the castle), no fee, just a beautiful display of wild flowers as well as more structured areas. Have fun, and congratulations on your wedding.

Still in Scotland - the Royal Botanic garden in Edinburgh has some beauties, although it's not as impressive as Kew.
You might also like to try Chelsa Physic garden, but I think it's omly open to the public on Wednesdays and Sundays - well, I KNOW it's open on Sundays, because we try to go there at least twice every summer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jane's gardening page

Giverny is about an hour west of Paris which is a long way away from Provence. If Paris is in your plans and you have a half a day then definitely go to Giverny. My husband and I visted Giverny last May and thought it was simply gorgeous. Not sure about what gardens are in Provence however.

Thanks for the advice, all! We've now decided on Provence, Florence, Paris [and Giverny], London [Kew] and Kent [Sissinghurst, Great Dixter]. I can't wait!

If you are visiting the UK in early September there is a really beautiful garden at Rofford Manor, Little Milton, Near Oxford that is open on September 9th.
Another cottage garden to visit is Woodbury Cottage in Reigate, Surrey on 2nd and 9th September. Kew Gardens is fine but get a copy of the National Gardens Scheme book of gardens open for charity and see what is open.

If sight-seeing in Paris doesn't wear you out (or even if it does), it's great to pack a picnic lunch and go to the Bois de Vincennes and visit the Parc Floral, perhaps France's largest botanical garden. (they do sell food in the Parc) If you like dahlias, they have HUGE displays of them in September. (to others: if you're there in mid-late May, there are INCREDIBLE displays of iris, and the Pinède [pinetum] area is full of hostas and astilbes for late May through July) This is what Parisians do on the weekend! Very un-touristy, but very cool.

Giverny is a half-day trip IF you take the earliest bus you can (even if you are on your honeymoon, wink wink). If you go later in the day, it can be so crowded it takes twice the time to see.

Have a great trip. I'm sure we're all jealous.

Hi Suzanne
It was great having you stay with us -how about a follow up telling everyone about your favourite gardens and experiences in Europe? We have now got a website with some garden and house photos (www.churchgates.com) Its a litle slow to load because I haven't got to grips with all the ins and outs of the web yet! I'm hoping to extend the site to give full details of all the gardens close by and a diary listing so that you can see at a glance which gardens are open on a particular day and also any special events. Should make garden visit planning a lot easier!!

Hope you are both well- and enjoying married life.

David and Joe

For visitors to England there is a site that list private gardens open to the public for charity and also lists accommodation under "links" which may be useful

Here is a link that might be useful: national gardens open for charity

Other than Kew ,,, literally the " Mother of all Gardens" the one that I enjoyed most was in Scotland ,, Its called Logan Gardens and located on the southwest tip of Scotland, about an hour from Glasgow ,,, Located in the northmost end of the Gulf Stream , it's filled with some unusual specimens, including Palms, phormiums, gunnera,eucalyptus, and when i was there in August ,, a magnificent hydrangea hedge that must have been a quater of a mile long, ten feet tall and twenty feet long !!!!

well worth the drive .. michael

In Paris, if you can, visit Parc de Bagatelle...Jardins
is gorgeous if you like roses!

Susan

Has anyone been on a booked gardening tour (and perhaps some castles for the hubby) of say, England and France (Giverny)? I'd love to know if there are any companies giving good value for this sort of thing.