The National Garden Scheme gives visitors access to more than 3,500 private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands to raise money for nursing and health charities.
Visits to the gardens can be booked in advance at https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/.
Here are some Hertfordshire gardens to visit while the weather is nice:
10 Cross Street, Letchworth
Visitors can enjoy this garden with mature fruit trees which are planted throughout the year, as well as two grass lawns and a wildlife pond.
This garden was featured in the 2020 edition of A Year in the English Garden and on Alan Titchmarsh’s Love Your Garden series in 2023.
The garden is open from 1pm to 5pm on Monday, April 21, and tea, coffee and cake will be on offer.
Admissions is £5 for adults and free for children.
St Paul’s Walden Bury, Whitwell, Hitchin
This Grade I-listed formal garden dates back to 1720 and covers more than 50 acres. It was also the childhood home of the late Queen Mother.
Visitors can enjoy seasonal displays of daffodils, camelias, irises, magnolias, rhododendrons and lilies, as well as wildflowers such as cowslips and bluebells.
The garden is open from 2pm to 6pm on Sunday, May 11 and Sunday, June 8.
Admission is £8 for adults and free for children, and homemade teas will be served.
42 Falconer Road, Watford
Described as an “enchanting, magical and unusual” Victorian-style space, this garden features birdcages and chimney pots, as well as a walk-through conservatory filled with plants.
The garden is open from midday to 6pm on May 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 24 and 25.
Light refreshments will be served, and admission costs £6 for adults and is free for children.
Patchwork, 22 Hall Park Gate, Berkhamsted
This garden covers a quarter of an acre, and contains rockeries, two small ponds, herbaceous borders and island beds with bulbs in spring and dahlias in summer.
The garden also contains roses, fuchsias, hostas, begonias, patio pots and tubs.
Opening times are from 2pm to 5pm on Sunday, May 4 and Sunday, August 17.
Admission costs £5 for adults and is free for children, and light refreshments will be served.
Ashridge House Gardens, Berkhamsted
These Grade II-listed gardens were designed in 1813 by Humphrey Repton, and modified by architect Sir Jeffry Wyatville.
The 190 acres contain formal gardens, a large lawn area, avenues of trees and an arboretum.
During May, the garden’s highlights are the azaleas and spring bedding displays, and free garden introduction talks are available on the day.
The garden is open from 10am to 5pm on Sunday, April 27, and admission is £7.50 for adults and free for children.
Light refreshments will be available at the Bakehouse Café.
Pie Corner, Millhouse Lane, Bedmond, Abbots Langley
This garden is designed to complement the modern classical house at Pie Corner. Visitors can enjoy formal borders near the house, a pond, views across a large lawn and wildflowers.
In late spring blossom, tulips, wild garlic, bluebells and young rhododendrons are on display.
The gardens are open from 2pm to 5pm on Sunday, April 27.
Admission costs £6 for adults and is free for children, and homemade teas will be available.