BlueBell Arboretum & Nursery

BlueBell Arboretum is a garden for tree lovers who want to see unusual species growing well and then, if they like, take one home from the nursery. It was planted from scratch on a six-acre meadow from 1992, so it is a young collection compared with the great Victorian arboretums, but that is part of the appeal: you can see what a few decades of careful planting can achieve.

The collection is woodland in style and leans towards temperate trees and shrubs from northern Asia, North America and other parts of the world. Look out for forms of Cornus kousa, sweetgum, tulip trees and many birches. A grove of 75 giant redwoods was planted in 2007 and is meant to become a redwood grove in time, while a group of coast redwoods has been underplanted with sword ferns and skunk cabbages in a damp area to suggest a Californian forest. The 'Singing Sequoia', a musical and educational feature, sits among them. Labels and information boards explain the botany and ecology as you go, which makes it a good place for children who are curious about trees.

For gardeners, the value here is seeing mature-looking specimens of trees you might only know from catalogues, and judging their size, bark and autumn colour before buying. The arboretum was featured on Gardeners' World for its autumn colour, which tells you when it looks its best. Take a notebook, check the labels, and allow time to browse the nursery afterwards.