THE NANHORON ESTATE
Nanhoron, Pwllheli, Gwynedd
(01758 730 610/nanhoronestate.co.uk)
People travel miles to Nanhoron, where The Hen Dy is the oldest house on the 5,000-acre estate which has been in David's family for centuries. He and Bettina are delightful hosts and the gardens are flourishing.
The backdrop to your cottage is a baroque-inspired area set in a quadrant with topiary, statues and gazebo, with reflecting pool and views to the lake, woodland and sea. You get a large, light and serene sitting room with books, games, soft sofas and Sky TV.
The kitchen is made for domestic goddesses, the smart dining room seats eight and in winter the estate logs crackle in the open fire. Up stairs or stairlift, to big restful bedrooms with garden views.
Roses are everywhere, as are hydrangeas, azaleas, camellias and tree ferns. You'll also find them in abundance on the stunning woodland walk.
Welcome to the Llyn Peninsula.
Seven nights at The Hen Dy from £750 (sleeps seven), self-catering.

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WICKHAM LODGE
The Quay, 73 High Street, Aylesford, Kent
(01622 717 267/wickhamlodge.co.uk)
Cherith spoils you with traditional comforts and you'll love the riverside setting, the log-warmed drawing room with the greenest view and fresh, airy bedrooms with linen quilts and pretty pine.
Wander the half-acre garden that's been 40 years in the making. Starting at the top end is the kitchen garden, a horn of plenty, cultivated with "companion planting" controlling pests and diseases. Then a fruit grove, a secret garden, a Cornish haven and a rose walk, fragrant with many Old English shrub roses.
In the Japanese garden, a stairway of railway sleepers topped with pebbles winds serenely up to a circular terrace enfolded by winter flowering shrubs.
Amble further to the gravelled hop garden, where a rustic pergola supports hops from the river bank and a topiary terrace (with goldfish pond) nudges the Tudor back of the house. Boats bob by at high tide.
Doubles from £90 per night (two sharing), B&B.

SPOONEY GREEN
Spooney Green Lane, Keswick, Cumbria
(01768 772 601)
Sandra and Ian's greatest love is the natural world.
In nine years they have created a magical garden out of once boggy fields. Now there are more formal gardens around the house, moving down through bog area, the pond and then into a wildflower meadow.
Terraces at the front of the house face south and are a peaceful place to enjoy heart-lifting views down the long garden to the hills. Flower beds are crammed with cottage garden favourites and an ancient lime tree produces lime honey which will find its way to your breakfast table.
This couple garden organically and enjoy eating what they produce. You sleep in simple, comfortable, bedrooms, a welcome relief to the walkers who lope down the great Skiddaw mountain right behind.
Doubles from £75 per night (two sharing), B&B. Singles £60.

BROOK FARM
Berrington, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire
(01584 819 868/brookfarmberrington.com)
A wonderful lost-in-the-country feel here and the farmhouse is surprisingly large. You get one end, Sarah and William the other, so it's nicely private.
Armchairs made for sprawling, a wood-burner to keep you shiver-free and masses of lovely books. Have a ploughman's supper here if you don't want to budge.
Around the main house is a cottage garden that froths with blowsy roses, verbascums, alchemilla, peonies, poppies and potentilla and a wisteria-covered pergola is underplanted with tulips and nepeta. To either side are a lavender-edged lawn and an area of weeping crab apples in gravel quarters, with William's alpines underneath. A circular middle bed houses a weeping white rose hugged by chives and alliums.
The vegetable garden is a mix of flowers, fruits and vegetables. Wiggly paths take you to woodland with mature trees, a babbling brook and an old orchard.
Doubles from £80 per night (two sharing), B&B. Singles £65.

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THE ROOKERY
Glenholme, Tongland Road, Kirkcudbright, Dumfries & Galloway
(01557 339 422/glenholmecountryhouse.com)
Kirkcudbright is known as the St Ives of the north and at The Rookery you have your own patch of garden with outdoor furniture and a barbecue surrounded by tall beech hedges. Explore a wild wooded area with Scots pine, chestnuts, beech and bluebells in spring (40 rooks make their nests here every year), a much-loved and productive orchard and productive vegetable beds from which you can help yourselves to beans, peas, fresh herbs and oodles of salad leaves.
Rooms are warm and airy with a Scandinavian feel. The living room has fresh flowers, an open fire, comfy sofas and lots of books and games.
The kitchen is as neat as a pin but you can eat delicious dinners in the main house. Bedrooms have firm beds and gorgeous fabrics while bathrooms are spoiling. Super beaches are a short drive away.
Seven nights at The Rookery holiday cottage from £450 (sleeps four), self-catering.

CORNDONFORD FARM
Poundsgate, Newton Abbot, Devon
(01364 631 595)
Come and be engrossed in the routines of this wild, engagingly chaotic haven. There is plenty of comfort, too: a four-poster with lacy drapes and early morning tea.
Roses and wisteria clamber up the rugged façade of the farm, softening its ancient strength. At jam-making time the air is filled with the sweetness of an enormous pan of bubbling strawberries.
Ann's jewel-like farm garden has an arched walk of richly scented honeysuckle, roses and other climbers which leads to her very productive vegetable and soft fruit garden. There's a rockery and a little gravelled patio outside the house which has been planted with charming cottage flowers.
A wonderful place for those who love the rhythm and hubbub of real country life; and the Two Moors Way footpath is on the doorstep.

Readers can buy a copy of Special Places To Stay For Garden Lovers by Alastair Sawday for £11.99 (RRP £19.99) plus £2.99 p&p. Visit sawdays.co.uk/bookshop and quote EXPRESS GARDENS when you add to basket. Or call 01275 395431 during office hours. Offer ends May 31.