BRITAIN'S FINEST: Britain's Finest Gardens

We are a nation of garden lovers, and Britain has some of the loveliest gardens in the world. There are many reasons for this, including the laws of inheritance which kept great estates intact, and our mild and wet climate.

We feature gardens like Stowe and Stourhead, two stunning 18th century landscape gardens with lakes, valleys and classical temples. Sissinghurst and Great Dixter, while very different, are no less beautiful - and with their riot of colour, perfect examples of the English cottage garden. Levens Hall in Cumbria, with its box hedges and formal planting, is our oldest garden. But the winner is Kew, the most visited garden in the country and the most historical - famous, not just for its Palm House, but for its vast collection of plants and shrubs.