Bridgemere Show Gardens

Bridgemere Show Gardens is a compact, practical place to gather ideas, with 16 individual gardens set in six acres beside Bridgemere Garden Centre. Nine are gold and silver medal winners from the RHS Chelsea, Hampton Court and Tatton flower shows, so you can see show-garden design at close quarters without the crowds of a flower show. The gardens mix formal and informal planting and are run on a non-profit basis, with entry money going back into their upkeep.

Walking round, you move from one clearly defined garden to the next. Look for the garden where the 1990s TV series Gardener's Diary was filmed, the Supreme Award garden from the 1986 National Garden Festival in Stoke-on-Trent, and newer Blue Diamond designs such as the Forge Garden, Best Artisan Garden at Chelsea in 2021, the Down Memory Lane dementia garden and the Beautiful Abandonment Garden. The Japanese Garden was refurbished in 2024, and The Octavia Hill Garden, a multi-award-winning Chelsea design, was rebuilt here in 2025. The gardens also hold rare and unusual plants, including nine Champion Trees.

Because each garden has its own style, it is easy to compare materials, layouts and plant choices for your own plot. Spring brings over 20,000 tulips and more than 120 varieties of rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias in the woodland areas. Most of the gardens are wheelchair accessible, with an alternative route around the barked Woodland Walk. Well-behaved dogs on a short lead are welcome, and an open-air garden cafe operates in season, with more restaurants in the garden centre next door.