This month we make the renowned Beth Chatto Gardens the focus of our garden getaway, suggesting a two-day itinerary with a full day devoted to the diverse gardens and nursery there. Stay at the Angel Inn in Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk, which has an award-winning restaurant and, if the weather is conducive, a beautiful courtyard garden in which to relax.

On day one of your tour, drive 18 miles south from Stoke-by-Nayland to The Beth Chatto Gardens. Created over many years by the late Beth Chatto, the garden is maintained immaculately to continue her vision, with seven and a half acres to explore, as well as the adjoining nursery. The garden has five different areas that gave this famous plantswoman the opportunity to experiment with different types of plant. Known for her ecological ‘right plant, right place’ approach, she created gravel and scree gardens, a woodland garden, water garden and a more open area known as the reservoir garden. The garden is still immaculately planted and each visit is truly an education. Open February to November Tuesday to Saturday (10am-4pm Feb/March, 10am-5pm April-October) and Thursday to Saturday 10am-4pm in November and December.

On day two, spend the morning at Helmingham Hall which is 25 miles northeast of the Angel Inn. Set out around a spectacular moated Hall, the gardens were first laid out in the 18th century and have been updated by various generations of the Tollemache family, including garden designer Xa Tollemache, who shaped the gardens from 1975 until 2017 when her son and daughter-in-law moved into the main house. Formal parterres and rose gardens are balanced by beautiful herbaceous borders and an orchard filled with wildflowers, all set out romantically around the moated house. Local eatery Wright’s has opened a new Cafe at Helmingham serving posh cheese toasties, salads and an excellent brunch menu. The gardens are open from May 1 – September 30, Monday-Thursday, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays, 10am-5pm.

From Helmingham we suggest heading to Wyken Vineyards for lunch, 40 minutes’ drive away. In addition to the award-winning Leaping Hare restaurant, the gardens are open to explore from the beginning of April until the end of September every year. Developed by Kenneth and Carla Carlisle with the help of Arabella Lennox Boyd, the gardens unfold around the Elizabethan house in a series of intimate hedged rooms surrounded by meadows and orchards. The Leaping Hare has been listed in the Good Food Guide for 26 consecutive years serving a blend of modern and traditional European dishes made with thoughtfully sourced ingredients. The restaurant is open Wednesday to Sunday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The garden is open April-September on the same days, 1pm-5pm.

Nearby Fullers Mill is another gem of a garden created by the late Bernard Tickner, who created a garden from nothing over the course of 59 years. Situated next to the River Lark within the King’s Forest, its seven acres are a joy to explore, with woodland and waterside areas displaying interesting collections of unusual plants. Bernard was a friend of other eminent horticultural figures such as Beth Chatto, Alan Bloom, Cedric Morris and Christopher Lloyd who used to visit each other’s gardens, and many of the plants still to be seen in the garden were gifts or exchanges from this group. The garden is particularly fine in autumn, when many of the trees and shrubs turn spectacular shades of crimson, gold and purple. Now run by the charity Perennial, it is open from April 2 to October 31, Wednesdays and Friday-Sunday, 11am-5pm.