10 enchanted gardens: beautiful and quirky spaces

Our pick of truly unique gardens inspired by everything from black holes and poison to kidnap and cats According to its co-creator, Sir Roy Colin Strong: "A garden is an ever-evolving creation - like a painting that is never finished." Strong and his wife, Julia Trevelyan Oman, started work on what was a bare, four-acre field in the mid-70s. At the time, they were both immersed in the art world: Strong as director of the National Portrait Gallery and, later, the Victoria and Albert Museum; Oman as a production designer for film, theatre, ballet and opera. Their life-long appreciation for art and staging is evident throughout this scintillating, autobiographical garden. There are more than 20 separate areas for visitors to explore including a pleached lime walk, a nymphaeum, a boxed parterre and a crinkle crankle parade dedicated to their cat. Continue reading...