2-for-1 Gardens in Hampshire
Find out which Hampshire gardens are taking part in our 2-for-1 gardens-to-visit promotion.
Stretching inland from the English Channel, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are bejewelled with gardens of every shape, size and style. Benefiting from the mild, southerly climate, they offer a wealth of exotic plants and vibrant borders, sun-loving herbs and year-round colour.
There are 9 Gardeners’ World 2-for-1 gardens in this area, from the informal woodlands at Furzey Gardens to the formal potager at West Green House, they are wide ranging, beautiful and full of charm. Many give you the chance to follow in the footsteps of great historical figures – in the extensive grounds of Osborne, so beloved by Queen Victoria, in the walled garden at Chawton House, where Jane Austen found inspiration, and among the picturesque borders at the Manor House, Upton Grey, the work of renowned designer Gertrude Jekyll. You can travel the world too, via the Australian and New Zealand gardens at Ventnor Botanic Gardens, and the Himalayan Valley at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens.
Below you’ll find everything you need to know about all the Gardeners’ World 2-for-1 gardens in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Order our May issue, including 2-for-1 Gardens card and guide, here.
More on 2-for-1 gardens around the UK:
Carisbrooke Castle
The Princess Beatrice Garden is a small Edwardian-style walled garden, designed ten years ago by TV gardener Chris Beardshaw, capturing the spirit of a garden that Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter once enjoyed here. The geometric layout of gravel paths and borders also reflects the castle’s architecture. The planting includes topiary cones and clipped hedges, a fig tunnel, potted fruit trees, and flowers in shades of blue, red and gold, from the princess’s heraldic crest. These include cottage garden favourites such as roses, salvias, hardy geraniums, achilleas, lilacs and heleniums. A bubbling water feature in the centre adds to the tranquil atmosphere in this sunny oasis, ideal for relaxing. Wildflowers adorn the surrounding grassy banks and wild areas in spring and summer.
- Disabled access: partial
- Dogs: allowed on leads
- Single visitor discount: no
- Refreshments: light and hot food
Chawton House Gardens
This estate was once owned by Edward Austen, one of Jane Austen’s brothers, and the renowned author is known to have visited regularly. So come and see if you find inspiration too among its shrubberies, lawns, wooded ‘wilderness’ and idyllic views of the Hampshire countryside. The garden includes features from various periods, with a 19th-century lime avenue that is carpeted with snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells in spring, and two sunny terraces from the early 20th century, adorned with flowers, attractive paving, steps and brickwork, and plenty of seating. Within the wrought-iron gates of the large walled garden, originally built for Jane’s brother, is a rose garden, apple trees and colourful borders, and a recently planted herb garden, inspired by an ancient herbal in Chawton House’s library.
- Disabled access: partial
- Dogs: allowed on leads
- Single visitor discount: no
- Refreshments: light and hot food
Furzey Gardens
Set in the New Forest, this 10-acre woodland garden offers meandering walks and hidden paths among the trees and flowering shrubs, including spectacular rhododendrons and azaleas. The glades are home to wildflowers and there is a lake, waterfall and water meadow. The cottage garden overflows with summer colour, while autumn sees the trees turn rich shades of coper and gold. Wildlife thrives in this tranquil setting – and perhaps some woodland magic too – so keep your eyes peeled. With its relaxed, friendly atmosphere, Furzey Gardens offer plenty for all ages to enjoy. It is also a social enterprise, providing training and work experience for people with learning disabilities.
- Disabled access: partial
- Dogs: not allowed
- Single visitor discount: yes
- Refreshments: light
Gilbert White's House & Garden
Ideal for nature lovers, this landscape garden was created in the 1700s by naturalist Gilbert White, who studied and recorded the plants he found both on the estate and in the wider Hampshire area. Several historic features remain from his time, including the original haha, sundial and fruit wall, and a huge oak tree planted in 1730. Other elements have been recreated, based on White’s notes and diaries. Near the house are flowerbeds, a kitchen garden and herb garden, all featuring plants he is known to have grown. There are also many heritage apple trees, a wildflower meadow and naturalists’ garden with pond that is home to all three types of native newt.
- Disabled access: partial
- Dogs: allowed on leads
- Single visitor discount: yes
- Refreshments: light and hot food
Visit Gilbert White's House & Garden
The Manor House, Upton Grey
Step back a hundred years into this beautiful Edwardian garden, created by the celebrated designer Gertrude Jekyll, and restored to her original plans. It is now one of the most complete and authentic Jekyll gardens, showcasing her eminent talents as a designer, artist and plantswoman. It is open for several months in summer, when the garden is at its peak. In the formal garden you’ll find Jekyll’s renowned herbaceous borders, flowing with colour, while the pergola is clad in roses, jasmine and Virginia creeper, and the rose garden is a romantic medley of sumptuous roses, peonies and lilies that fill the air with fragrance. There is also a wild garden, with meandering mown paths leading you among meadows, shrubs, trees and rambling roses.
- Disabled access: partial
- Dogs: not allowed
- Single visitor discount: yes
- Refreshments: no
Visit The Manor House, Upton Grey
Osborne
Extensive gardens and grounds complement this Italianate palace, built for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Osborne’s formal terrace gardens, also Italianate in style, are laid out with colourful bedding displays, fountains and statues, while in the Victorian walled garden you’ll find trained fruit trees, roses, herbaceous borders and cut flowers. Beyond are the pleasure grounds, where the royal family would walk, safe from the public gaze. Here you can explore the sweeping lawns with mature trees, many planted by Prince Albert, wildflower meadows, woodland, flowering shrubs and a Swiss chalet where the royal children played and even grew vegetables. There is also a beach, where the royal family used to picnic and swim – pleasures you too can now enjoy.
- Disabled access: full
- Dogs: allowed on leads
- Single visitor discount: no
- Refreshments: light and hot food
Sir Harold Hillier Gardens
Not only is this a world-famous collection of more than 42,000 plant species, it’s also a beautiful and extensive garden of over 180 acres, to enjoy throughout the seasons. The year starts with a bounty of colourful spring bulbs, wild orchids in the meadows, and many rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias. In summer there’s colour at every turn and dappled woodland walks, but the main highlight is the centenary border, one of the longest double borders in the country. Autumn is a spectacular season, as the garden’s many deciduous trees take on fiery hues – the acer valley in particular is not to be missed. Through the colder months, the extensive winter garden brightens even the dullest day, with fragrant blooms, bright foliage and colourful stems and bark, including hellebores, daphnes, dogwoods and witch hazels.
- Disabled access: partial
- Dogs: not allowed
- Single visitor discount: no
- Refreshments: light and hot food
Visit Sir Harold Hillier Gardens
Ventnor Botanic Garden
With its sheltered location and warm micro-climate, Ventnor Botanic Garden is full of exotic colour and spectacular, unusual plants from across the world. There are tree ferns, giant echiums, cacti and succulents, aromatic Mediterranean herbs, an olive grove and the oldest palm trees in the UK. Natural-style habitats have been recreated in the South African, New Zealand and Australian gardens, where plants are allowed to self-seed and mingle as they please. Home to over 20,000 plants set within its 22 acres, there is plenty of interest all year round and for all ages. So explore at your leisure, discovering hidden gems, secret corners and sheltered seating – it’s the ideal place for meandering, exploring and relaxing. Look out for the abundant wildlife too, including red squirrels and sun-loving wall lizards.
- Disabled access: partial
- Dogs: allowed on leads
- Single visitor discount: no
- Refreshments: light and hot food
West Green House Gardens
An exuberant, romantic and exciting mix of formal and informal, this series of gardens is set around a central walled garden, restored to its original layout, containing a colourful potager of vegetables, flowers, fruit and herbs, and borders full of roses, tulips, alliums and herbaceous perennials, in shades of mauve, plum, pink and blue. Above this rises the grand water staircase with rill, fountain, moon gate and statues. Explore further and you’ll find the wisteria-clad garden of the five bridges and the geometric paradise garden with fountains and trees. There are many quirky follies and topiary to seek out too, and a peaceful naturalistic lake with island pavilion, set in a meadow where snowdrops, daffodils and fritillarias flower in spring.
- Disabled access: partial
- Dogs: not allowed
- Single visitor discount: no
- Refreshments: light and hot food
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