The weather may be dreary, but there’s reason to be excited this winter. Across the country, there are plenty of new gardens to discover in 2025, from the grounds of hotels, businesses and historic sites, to public parks, community spaces and private plots opening their gates as part of the National Garden Scheme.
You may also like
- The best winter walks in gardens
- 25 classic English gardens to visit
- The best gardens to visit for culture
See the new gardens on our bucket lists below.
The best new gardens to explore this year
Jump to gardens in:
- South East England
- South of England
- South West England
- East of England
- North East England
- North of England
- North West England
South East England
The Exchange garden, London
The Exchange garden used to be a mass of brambles and rubble surrounding a boarded-up old library; it’s now a beautifully revamped garden for the new community arts space there. Prioritising sustainability in the build, designer and Chelsea gold medal winner Sarah Price incorporated repurposed materials such as crushed aggregate from the renovation, clay from local roadworks and even plants from a pop-up garden. Read more in our full article.
- Open Wednesday - Saturday, various opening hours
- Free entry
- The Exchange, The Old Library, Walnut Tree Road, Erith, DA8 1RA
- theexchangeerith.com
Kenfield House, Kent
Opening as part of the National Garden Scheme, the gardens at Kenfield House will open to the public for two days in May 2025. It’s a 3.5 acre space designed back in 2012 by Marian Boswell, and features an orchard, spiral lawn and shady ‘white garden’, alongside flowering borders of shrubs and wildflowers.
You’ll also find a new Alitex greenhouse on the former tennis courts, and two pergolas adorned with climbers.
- Open Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May 2025, 11am-4pm
- £7.50 | Find out more and book tickets
- Kenfield, Petham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5RN
29 Heathfield Road, London
Another option from the National Garden Scheme, this space is open for just one Sunday in July this year. It’s a woodland garden belonging to an Arts and Crafts house, and was designed and planted by Stefano Marinaz in February 2023. Take a wander and you’ll discover two seating areas connected by a slate chip path, as well as a water feature and woodland planting.
- Open Sunday 6th July 2025, 2-6pm
- £7 | Find out more and book tickets
- Acton, London, W3 8EH
Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum revealed its newly reimagined five-acre garden in July 2024. The central London plot now features an Evolution Garden with plants including mosses and tree ferns to reflect the changing environment, and a Nature Discovery Garden, where scientists will monitor local wildlife to develop guidelines for nature conservation in cities.
The relocated pond is now home to frogs, newts, dragonflies and mandarin ducks, while you can find fascinating sculptures including a full-sized Diplodocus wandering the grounds. Here are a few more great museums with gardens.
- Entry to the museum and gardens is free
- Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD
- nhm.ac.uk
South of England
West Dean Dry Meadow, West Sussex
West Dean College’s gardens already include Victorian glasshouses, an orchard, arboretum and walled kitchen garden, but now there’s a new area to explore; the dry meadow. A place to experiment with resilient drought- and flood-tolerant plants, it includes 2,000 perennials grown from seed and planted in recycled concrete mulch. Round off your visit with a stop at the restaurant and gift shop.
- Open throughout the year, various opening hours
- From £7.50 at the entrance
- West Dean Gardens, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0RX
- westdean.ac.uk
South West England
The Newt’s Four Seasons Garden, Somerset
The new Four Seasons Garden at The Newt opened in spring 2024 and is made up of four separate spaces, designed to flourish in turn. Think spring bulbs and cherry blossom, summer climbers and autumn colours. There’s also a ‘newt pond’ to discover. Pop to the Farmyard or Beehive café for refreshments during your trip.
- Open all year round
- Become a Member from £40 to visit the gardens
- Bruton, Somerset, BA7 7NG
- thenewtinsomerset.com
Wildside Tribute Garden, Devon
Originally intended to host a swimming pond, this area of the much-loved Wildside has become a peaceful tribute to Ros Wiley, who died in 2019 after 15 years developing the gardens with her husband Keith. He has designed a space supporting wildlife, incorporating flowing water and the seasonal colours Ros enjoyed painting.
- Open various dates March - November
- £12.50 at the entrance
- Wildside, Green Lane, Buckland Monachorum, Devon, PL20 7NP
- wileyatwildside.com
Bowood House Walled Garden, Wiltshire
In April 2025, Bowood House is opening up its Walled Garden for the first time. While it’s previously been a private space for Lord Lansdowne, its borders are now being updated with pale-coloured blooms inspired by the house's interior to contrast with a bold red, orange and blue scheme.
There’s also a new sensory garden in the works, set to feature scented flowers, corkscrew stems and eye-catching colours.
- Open 1st April - 2nd November 2025, 10:30am-5:30pm
- Book early bird tickets
- Derry Hill, Calne, SN11 9PQ
Caisson House, Somerset
The gardens at Caisson House have been lovingly restored by Phil and Amanda Honey, who moved into the Grade-II-listed building in 2010. Today, the landscape is one of the hottest new gardens to visit in the west country, so if you missed the grand opening last summer, be sure to pay a visit in 2025 - or book a spot on one of the sustainable workshops there.
- Open various dates in April, May and June 2025
- £14 | Check open days and book tickets online
- Combe Hay, Bath, BA2 7EF
Lasborough Park, Gloucestershire
Lasborough Park, built around 1800, has 12 acres of land around it, including herbaceous borders, a parterre and a walled garden, as well as woodland areas. Over the past eight years, it’s been reimagined by the current owner and the legendary plant designer Tom Stuart-Smith, and for one day in July, you can book a two-hour guided tour by the head gardener Brian Corr.
- Open Wednesday 30th July 2025, 10am-4pm
- £17.50 | Book tickets
- Lasborough, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8UF
Christmas Common Gardens, Oxfordshire
There are three lovely gardens to explore this June in the hamlet of Christmas Common in Oxfordshire. At Priors Grove Cottage, you’ll find a half-acre plot with shrubs and herbaceous plants, as well as a formal lily pond, a wildlife pond home to Koi Carp, and a waterfall.
The slightly larger Meadow Cottage features a wildflower garden, fruit trees and a pond, as well as a treehouse for children to explore. At The Old Church Hall, there’s a more relaxed and informal feel, with self-seeding plants and colourful herbaceous borders along the mown lawn path.
- Open Saturday 14th June 2025, 1-6pm
- £8 for entry to all three gardens | Book tickets
- Christmas Common, Oxfordshire, OX49 5HW
East of England
Wolsey Farmhouse, Suffolk
If you’re based in the East of England, consider a trip to Wolsey Farmhouse in Suffolk. This family home has an orchard, walled garden and wildlife pond, and since 2021, the owners have added a brand new wildflower meadow and prairie garden, designed by Sue Townsend.
- Open Sunday 14th September 2025, 11am-4pm
- £6 | Book tickets
- Hog Hill Lane, Yoxford, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 3JF
North East England
Auckland gardens
Not only did Auckland Gardens open its restored Wilderness Garden and Faith Garden alongside a new Victorian-inspired glasshouse in spring 2024; it’s now gearing up for the big reveal of its centrepiece, the Great Garden, in 2025.
All these gardens are part of the 10 acres of green space surrounding Auckland Castle in County Durham, which also includes a bowling green hosting summer events, and a walled garden for growing fruit and veg served up in the cafe. Stroll along the North Terrace for views of the nearby 150-acre deer park.
- Open Wednesday - Sunday, 10.30am-4pm
- Book tickets from £20
- The Auckland Project, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 7PG
Shieldfield Art Works, Tyne and Wear
Sitting alongside Sheffield Art Works (SAW), this urban community garden is a shared space designed to promote self-sufficiency in growing fruit and veg. Step inside this June and you’ll discover a thriving veg garden, wildflower and fruit tree areas and a mown labyrinth, as well as installations including a rotating art poster gallery, pergola and much-admired chair made from a repurposed bathtub.
- Open Saturday 7th June 2025, 11am-3pm
- £4 | Book tickets
- 1 Clarence Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne And Wear, NE2 1YH
Raby Castle, County Durham
As part of a wider scheme to update many elements of the grounds at Raby Castle, Luciano Giubbilei has redesigned its 18th century walled garden alongside Lady Barnard. Visit from March 2025 and you’ll be able to explore the five-acre space, which incorporates the much-loved yew hedges and Raby fig already in situ. Don’t miss the Vinery Café Restaurant and seasonal markets at the Dutch Barn when you visit.
- Open March - October
- From £10 | Book tickets
- Staindrop, County Durham, DL2 3AH
North of England
Beningbrough Hall, Yorkshire
The National Trust’s Baroque mansion, Beningbrough Hall has a new Mediterranean-style garden designed by Andy Sturgeon. Expect to see thousands of plants chosen to boost diversity and cope with climate extremes, as well as low walls crafted from local York stone. Andy has also incorporated water bowls filled with miniature lilies.
- Open throughout the year
- Book tickets for the gardens, hall and gallery from £14
- Become a member for free entry
- Beningbrough, York, North Yorkshire, YO30 1DD
North West England
Mayfield Park, Manchester
When Mayfield Park opened in September 2022, it was central Manchester’s first newly built park in a century. Today, the 6.5-acre space is filled with 142 trees and 120,000 plants, arranged to evoke ink splashes in a nod to the industrial area’s old dye works. The scheme also reuses abandoned materials, such as factory bricks in retaining walls and a fire escape as a walkway across a bed. Find out more in our full article.
- Open daily 6am-6pm
- Free to enter
- mayfieldpark.com
- 11 Baring Street, Manchester, M1 2PY
Castlefield Viaduct, Manchester
If you’re near Manchester, it’s worth making a trip to the free sky garden on the Victorian-era Grade II-listed Castlefield Viaduct. The National Trust opened it as a linear park in 2022, and it’s now set to receive Tom Massey and Je Ahn’s relocated, gold-medal-winning WaterAid Garden from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024, featuring huge steel funnels designed to harvest and filter rainwater and provide shade.
- Open Wednesday - Sunday, 10am-5pm
- Free to enter
- nationaltrust.org.uk
- Manchester, M3 4LG
For more days out, see our guide to 10 of the best gardens to visit for planting inspiration.