BT421 16pp

Unique Garden Tours

led by experts

2021/2022

Dear Garden Enthusiasts,

Welcome to our collection of 2021/2022 Exclusive Boxwood Garden Tours, with a varied

selection of gardens tours and experiences for you to choose from. Stay close to home with

our ever-growing collection of UK tours. New for 2022, join Irish gardens and plantsman

extraordinaire, Jimi Blake as he explores the best of Irish gardening. Investigate the story of the

French Rose as we explore some truly wonderful gardens. We also bring you some wonderful

insights to acquaint you with our experts.

May we assure you that your health and wellbeing on our holidays is our top priority. We hope

that you keep safe and well and look forward to being able to welcome you on a Boxwood tour

in the not too distant future.

With best wishes,

Steve Goodenough

Managing Director

OUR EXPERT TOUR HOSTS & TOUR LEADERS

Kirsty Ferguson

David Wheeler

Sophie Piebenga

Helen Yemm

Charles Quest-Ritson

Stephen Anderton

Marion Mako

James Basson

Tim Stuart-Smith

Jimi Blake

Sarah Wain

2

To book call 01341 241717 or visit www.boxwoodtours.co.uk

CONTENTS

WELCOME 2-3

HORTUS TOURS

HORTUS GOES TO CORNWALL 4

ARTS AND CRAFTS & GARDENS

OF THE COTSWOLDS

4

Ninfa, Italy

HORTUS GOES TO TANGIER 5

GARDENS ILLUSTRATED TOURS

A BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION 6

WEST COUNTRY KITCHEN GARDENS 7

GARDENS OF MARRAKECH & TAROUDANT 8

THE TELEGRAPH TOURS

GARDENS OF CORFU 9

GARDENS OF SOMERSET 9

EXCLUSIVE TO BOXWOOD TOURS

Plas Cadnant

THE SUFFOLK COLLECTION 10

GARDENS OF SNOWDONIA 11

GARDENS OF NORFOLK 12

COUNTRY LIFE TOURS

THE ITALIAN ROSE: LAZIO & UMBRIA 13

GARDENS & PALAZZOS OF VENICE

& THE VENETO

13

FLEXIBLE

BOOKING

Secure your holiday with a deposit

and the option to transfer your

booking to another date for free*

*Terms and conditions apply

OUR PRICE

PROMISE

Your holiday will not be sold for

less, furthermore if the price of

your holiday does increase, you

will not be asked to pay more

once you have booked!*

COVID

CANCELLATION

PROTECTION

insurance now available when

you book with us.

YOUR SAFETY

& WELLBEING

is our utmost priority – we’ll be

introducing stringent hygiene

and safety measures to help keep

you safe on holiday.

PEACE OF MIND

with our expert teams here in

the UK you’re in the best hands

members of ABTA and holders of

an ATOL license, all of our holidays

are financially bonded

To book call 01341 241717 or visit www.boxwoodtours.co.uk 3

in association with Boxwood Tours

Arts & Crafts & Gardens

of the Cotswolds

Hortus goes to Cornwall

For a Magnolia Extravaganza

Hosted by Marion Mako

& led by Sophie Piebenga

20 September 2021, 4 days from £2,450

Here’s a chance for me to welcome you on my home

patch with its unique collection of early 20thcentury

Arts&Crafts gardens, every one of them

privately owned and lovingly cared for, often by

descendants of the original owners. From lunch

at Rodmarton Manor in the dining room designed

by Ernest Barnsley to tea on the terrace of Sidney

Barnsley’s Cotswold Farm, this tour includes special

treats not to be missed!

Tour highlights

• Stay at one of the region’s finest hotels, Lords of

the Manor

• Visit Russell House, Luggers Hall & Springfield

House in the beautiful village of Broadway

• Private viewing of Owlpen Manor with its

wonderful collection of Arts & Crafts furniture

and fittings

Hosted by David Wheeler

& led by Kirsty Ferguson

21 March 2022, 4 days from £2,399

Few sights are as impressive as a Cornish

‘Champion’ Magnolia tree in full bloom, but at

Caerhays we will join Charles Williams and his

Head Gardener, Jaimie Parsons in hoping for the

first bud to have opened on one of their home-grown

hybrids, a magical moment to reward more than a

decade of patient hope and care.

Tour highlights

• Stay at Olga Polizzi’s renowned Tresanton Hotel

• Visit to Caerhays Castle with owner Charles

Williams and gardener Jaimie Parsons

• A special invitation to lunch at Glendurgan

House with Charles and Caroline Fox

• Visit to Trewithen with head gardener

Gary Long

Trebah Gardens

4



Hortus goes to Tangier

A rare Invitation to Step into Luxurious Private Gardens

Donabo Gardens

Hosted by David Wheeler & led by Kirsty Ferguson

16 May 2022, 5 days from £3,398

The city’s secret gardens, created by its celebrated expatriate community is temptation enough, but add to

this a day at Rohuna in the company of ecologist, writer and dedicated dreamer, Umberto Pasti and discover

a hidden corner of rural Morocco, lovingly re-animated under the guidance of this extraordinary plantsman.

Tour highlights

• Visit an array of gardens on Vieille Montagne;

including Gazebo & El Foolk

• Enjoy a lunch hosted by Anna Mackew

• Visit the gardens of Umberto Pasti

• Indulge in a lantern-lit dinner with

Gordon Watson



A Beautiful Obsession:

Contemporary Irish Gardens in the company of Jimi Blake

Roseraie Val de Marne

Hosted by Jimi Blake & led by Sophie Piebenga


Join us as we explore the absolute best of Irish gardening in a careful selection of mostly very private gardens,

some are even too exclusive to name. With Irish gardener and plantsman extraordinaire Jimi Blake joining

us, we will be welcomed by many great friendly gardeners. Our visit garden is Hunting Brook, Jimi’s very own

gardens.

Tour highlights

• By special invitation to visit Patthana, an awardwinning

garden and home to artist T.J. Maher

• Visit Ardan, a garden on a hilly peninsula

overlooking Dublin Bay

• On day three, visit a very private gardens, for

an exclusive visit

• Visit Airfield Gardens, which is now under the

leadership of Jimi Blake

6



West Country Kitchen Gardens

From plot to plate: Chefs Gardens & Potagers

Hosted by Sarah Wain


This tour will show us fruit and vegetable gardening at the highest level, both on a small, private scale as

well as on a larger scale for top-class restaurants and hotels. Wonderful examples of the former are at

Deans Court in Wimborne and Southwood Farm with its beautifully measured Arne Maynard design. Large,

traditional walled kitchen gardens are to be found at Edmonsham House and Forde Abbey whilst Kingston

Lacey boasts a range of recently restored Victorian glasshouses.

Culinary and visual highlights will be Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage and the Pig at Combe

where we will be shown how our food is grown before sampling it for delicious lunches!

Tour highlights

• Visit, THE PIG-at Combe in the secluded Otter Valley

• See the traditional kitchen garden at Forde Abbey that still supplies the house and the estate

• Visit Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage

• Visit South Wood Farm, one of Arne Maynard’s most all-round pleasing designs

• At Kingston Lacy Victorian Kitchen Garden, we discover a complex of immaculately restored glass houses

• Visit Edmondsham House, where the walled kitchen garden has been organic for 35 years



Gardens of Marrakech & Taroudant

Indulge in a Unique Selection of 21st Century Gardens

Le Jardin Majorelle

Hosted by Tom Stuart-Smith & led by Kirsty Fergusson

10 March 2022, 6 days from £3,898

The contrasting climates and cultures of these two Moroccan cities have attracted designers and

plantspeople from all parts of the globe, producing a vibrant crop of new gardens to inspire and refresh our

northern European eyes. To be guided by Tom Stuart-Smith and Olivier Verra through such colour, light and

warmth at this time of year is a treat no gardener would want to miss.

Tour highlights

• Tom Stuart-Smith will guide you through his own

creation, Le Jardin Secret in the heart of Marrakech

• Visit a series of remarkable gardens designed by

Eric Ossart and Arnaud Maurières

• Enjoy a private view of the adjacent Villa Oasis

where Yves Saint Laurent lived during his lifetime

in Morocco

Le Jardin Secret

8



NEW Gardens of Somerset

Flowers of the Summer Lands

Gardens of Corfu

Contemporary Gardens of the

Ionian Sea

The Newt

Hosted by Helen Yemm

& led by Sophie Piebenga


While researching this trip in July 2020, armed

with Abigail Willis’s new book ‘Secret Gardens of

Somerset’, I happened to run into her by accident

at Yeo Valley Organic Garden; and what a happy

accident it proved to be! Abigail will join us for

one evening on this tour, one particular highlight

of which is a visit to the new ‘no-expense spared’,

immaculately maintained garden venture at The

Newt (formerly Hadspen House).

Tour highlights

• See the late Margery Fish’s cottage gardens at

East Lambrook Manor, where she wrote her eight

classic gardening books

• Visit the Newt, extraordinary walled gardens,

flower borders and kitchen gardens

• See the gardens at Batcombe House, home of

garden designer Libby Russell

Hosted by Helen Yemm

& led by Kirsty Fergusson

2 May 2022, 5 days from £3,480

Against an idyllic backdrop of mountains, sea

and sky, an inspiring collection of private gardens

showcase Mediterranean gardening at its most

creative. An unforgettable morning will be spent

in the gardens of the Rothschild estate, a favourite

summer haunt of Princess Diana.

Tour highlights

• Visit author Rachel Weaving’s private terraced

garden at Villa Zetouna

• Visit the private garden of Thomas Doxiadis

• Stay in the glamorous, five-star Domes

Miramare Hotel


EXCLUSIVE to Boxwood Tours

The Suffolk Collection

In an English Country Garden

Helmingham Hall

Hosted by Stephen Anderton

8 June 2021, 4 days from £2,399

Suffolk is a quintessentially English county of gentle rolling farmland, thatched cottages and moated halls

that have famously inspired and been encapsulated by native artists Thomas Gainsborough and John

Constable.

Tour highlights

• Delve into the rich history of Crowe Hall

• Explore the stunning family garden of the

Old Rectory at Nacton

• Enjoy an exclusive tour of Helmingham Hall with

Lady Xa Tollemache

• Visit Columbine Hall with garden designer George

Carter

• See the gardens at Wyken Hall & Pykards Hall

• Spend time wandering the gardens at Polstead

Mill and enjoy a special lunch

Wyken Hall

10



Gardens of Snowdonia

Rivers, Mountains, Woodland and Sea

Plas Cadnant

Hosted by Stephen Anderton & led by Sophie Piebenga

16 May 2022, 5 days from £2,595

May time in North Wales will offer views of early flowering rhododendrons in, for example, the woodland

valleys of Bodnant Gardens and Plas Cadnant while our stay at Portmeirion will allow exclusive ‘out of

hours’ explorations of the colourful village and its plantings

Tour highlights

• Private gardens and woodland tour with the

owner and head gardener of Nanhoron

• Enjoy lunch and exploring the restored gardens

at Plas Cadnant

• Maenan Hall is a private garden in the Conwy

valley with dramatic views of Snowdonia

• Stay in the village of Portmeirion, at the four-star

Portmeirion hotel or Caastell Deudraeth

Portmeirion



Gardens of Norfolk

Land of the Wild Skies

East Ruston Vicarage

Hosted by Stephen Anderton

14 June 2022, 4 days from £2,290

Enjoy a hand-picked selection of fine private gardens in a quintessentially English region of rural Britain,

a little-known landscape of flint and red brick architecture, steeply pitched roofs of tile and thatch, round

church towers and long sandy beaches. In every garden visited in this quiet corner of old England we are

met for special guided tours to learn the essentials of the creation of exceptional gardens.

Tour highlights

• Enjoy lunch and a tour of the formal theatrical

green garden of Silverstone Farm, home to garden

designer George Carter

• Tour the wonderful walled gardens of Houghton

Hall with the head gardener

• Explore East Ruston Old Vicarage Garden;

the most remarkable and enjoyable contemporary

gardens in the country by owner, Alan Gray

12



Gardens of Palazzos of

Venice and the Veneto

Across the Lagoon to the Rich

Countryside of the Veneto

The Italian Rose:

Gardens of Lazio and Umbria

Giardino Giusti

Hosted by Charles Quest-Ritson


11 October 2021, 6 days from £3,580

The opportunity to experience the palaces and

gardens of Venice and the Veneto, just as their

aristocratic owners in the seventeenth century

would have done, travelling from city to country

estate by private river barge along the Brenta canal

gives this tour a unique perspective, dramatically

enhanced by the welcome we receive from the

descendants of those same families.

Tour highlights

• Visit the contrasting Palazzo Querini Stampalia to

see the designs of Carlo Scarpa

• Private visit to Palazzo Cappello Malipiero

Barnabò

• Visit the famous 17th century garden of Villa

Barbarigo

Ninfa

Hosted by Charles Quest-Ritson


25 April 2022, 5 days from £3,995

Italian rose gardens are amongst the finest in the

world, and this hand-picked selection together with

their passionate and knowledgeable owners is a

feast for rose amateurs and experts alike – as well

as all lovers of Italy’s hidden treasures. And who

does not fall for Ninfa – the ultimate Romantic

dream, where thousands of roses garland the ruins

of a riverside medieval town.

Tour highlights

• Enjoy stays in two, five-star hotels, Hotel de Russie

& Brufani Palace Hotel

• Visit the spectacular garden of Ninfa, where

scrambling Roses drape over medieval ruins

• Enjoy lunch with Helga Brichet, a world expert

on roses

Villa Barbarigo

Ninfa


Tour Calendar 2021

TOUR DATE TOUR HOST

A Beautiful Obsession 7-10 September Jimi Blake

Gardens of Somerset 15-18 September Helen Yemm

Arts and Crafts & Gardens of the Cotswolds 20-23 September David Wheeler

West Country Kitchen Gardens 27-30 September Sarah Wain

Gardens & Palazzos of Venice & the Veneto 11- 15 October Charles Quest-Ritson

Giardino Giusti

Tour Calendar 2022

TOUR DATE TOUR HOST

Gardens of Marrakech & Taroudant 10-15 March Tom Stuart-Smith

Hortus goes to Cornwall 21-24 March Charles Fox

The Italian Rose: Lazio & Umbria 25-29 April Charles Quest-Ritson

Gardens of Corfu 2-6 May Helen Yemm

Telegraph Tuscany 9-13 May Helen Yemm

Hortus goes to Tangier 16-20 May Virginia Afleck

Gardens of Snowdonia 16-20 May Stephen Anderton

Gardens Illustrated: French Rose 30 May- 3 June Michael Marriott

Gardens of Norfolk 14-17 June Stephen Anderton

The Garden of England 27 June- 1st July Helen Yemm

Gardens Illustrated Devon on the Wild-side 4-7 July Keith Wiley

Hortus South West Scotland 12-16 September Adam Wilkinson

Gardens Illustrated Lake District 27 - 30 September TBC

Country Life Tuscan Gold 3-7 October Charles Quest-Ritson

14


Discover more ...

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