Between May 21 and 25 horticulture’s great and good will descend on west London for the fragrant, rainbow-coloured ritual of the Chelsea Flower Show. But the capital is far from the only place to get a late-spring flower fix: these towns and villages are renowned for their floral creations and present a blooming marvellous weekend away.
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1. Usk, Monmouthshire
This pretty Welsh town is known as “Tref o Flodau”, which translates as Town of Flowers. In spring, 10,000 daffodils are followed by vivid beds of perennials, which add bursts of colour to the town square in summer. This year’s floral theme is “a carnival of colours in Wales”, with scarlet dragon wing blooms, flame-red coleus and “glowing ember” begonias. There’s a sustainable, community-led spirit to this operation — everyone from rotary clubs to schoolchildren, scouts and the WI get involved in planting and pruning. Stick around to visit the magical Usk Castle (by appointment, £4; uskcastle.com), go shopping in the market towns of Monmouth and Abergavenny, and take walks in the verdant Usk and Wye valleys. Stay over at Newbridge on Usk, a restaurant with six recently refurbished boutique rooms.
Details Room-only doubles from £77 (newbridgeonusk.com)
2. Shrewsbury, Shropshire
No one in Shrewsbury pays Chelsea much attention; they’re too busy with their own acclaimed flower show (August 9-10; £25; shrewsburyflowershow.org.uk). But long before that locals are prepping some 300,000 plants a year for the town’s public displays, with daffodils, hydrangeas and tulips scenting its Quarry Park in spring, and fuchsias and heliotropes at their finest from July to August. As well as the Dingle — a sunken bed of some 40,000 blooms in Quarry Park — you’ll see kaleidoscopic colour at Shrewsbury Castle, with a striking carpet bed designed around an annual theme; this year’s is the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Elsewhere in town, the Market Hall has charming food and craft vendors, and there’s history to be explored at Shrewsbury Abbey and Attingham Park, a National Trust estate. Book a room at the boutique Darwin’s Townhouse to wake up to a breakfast feast of locally sourced eggs, sausages, breads and jams.
Details Room-only doubles from £130 (darwinstownhouse.com)
3. Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Apart from its Victorian looks and the scones at Bettys tearoom, North Yorkshire’s handsome spa town is known for its floral excellence. A twice-yearly flower show keeps the petal-curious coming (September 13-15; £23; flowershow.org.uk), while past public displays have included a giant stiletto bursting with flowers as well as a mega afternoon tea set with flowers blooming over a tiered stand. Make for the grade II listed Valley Gardens, where you’ll see dazzling dahlias, beds of scarlet and gold amid water features and striking Japanese gardens. Add on a day or two to visit the well-preserved ruins of Fountains Abbey and learn about the spa town’s heyday at the Royal Pump Room Museum. Base yourself at the Harrogate Inn, where you can sip cocktails at its pretty domed bar.
Details B&B doubles from £77 (inncollectiongroup.com)
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4. Forres, Moray
Nicknamed the “flower of Scotland” by residents, this north-coast town has won a dizzying number of awards for its proliferation of floral displays, including Scotland in Bloom and Keep Scotland Beautiful, not to mention the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for the teams who plant some 20,000 flowers each year. Go between June and September to see them: the heart of things is Grant Park, where you might see peacock, ladybird or butterfly-shaped creations alongside bright planters and hanging baskets decorating the high street, as well as beds around the neogothic St Laurence Church. Make a weekend of it with a visit to the 16th-century Brodie Castle and try a smoky dram at the Benromach Distillery (tours from £10; benromach.com) before checking in at the Victorian mansion Cluny Bank. The Moray Coast Trail also shows off 45 miles of ravishing scenery including windswept beaches and vast, rocky outcrops.
Details B&B doubles from £160 (clunybankhotel.co.uk)
5. Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Pastel flowers flow from tiered baskets and fill generous planters in this Suffolk town’s centre, with tulips in sweetshop shades cropping up in parks and on local roundabouts. About 500 baskets are planted each May and sustainability is an increasing focus: every basket and planter on display in the town is self-watering, and uses a capillary matting system with a water reservoir that enables the plants to absorb water slowly without drying out over summer; rainwater is also collected in tanks to nourish them. Book a room at the Angel Hotel, covered by attractive climbers and adorned with window boxes, and fill the rest of your weekend with strolls around the Bury Abbey ruins and Lackford Lakes, where you might see kingfishers and dragonflies.
Details B&B doubles from £117 (theangel.co.uk)
6. Sidmouth, Devon
This chocolate-box Devon town could well be the UK’s top floral seaside town. Keith Owen, a Devon-born investment banker who loved the town, donated a generous sum to it and his money funds a volunteer group that plants a “Valley of a Million Bulbs” each October. Come spring, daffodils blanket the slopes down towards the sea, while during summer puffs of rainbow-bright petals adorn prime picnic spots such as Blackmore and Connaught Gardens. Guests can visit the town’s Sensory Garden in the Old Boat Park, designed for moments of meditation, reflection and relaxation, with plenty of seats and handy QR codes to tell you more about the choice of plants. There’s also an Open Gardens event offering a peek into private gardens, to raise money for the town’s spring creations (June 28-July 1; £2 per garden; sidmouthinbloom.org). The Elizabeth hotel puts you within strolling distance of the town’s gardens and its pebble beach; families will love visits to the donkey sanctuary and learning about ammonites along the Jurassic Coast.
Details B&B doubles from £141 (elizabethsidmouth.co.uk)
7. Filby, Norfolk
Though technically a village and not a town, there’s a reason coach trips through East Anglia regularly divert to tiny Filby, near Great Yarmouth, to see its displays. Planting starts in February with a team of 12 gardeners working on 160 hanging baskets and 23,000 bedded plants — they’re at their finest through late spring and summer, though lovely beds can be seen right up until September. Expect geraniums, petunias and vibrant, big-leafed begonias, with blooms attractively displayed on ploughs and other agricultural equipment as well as in permanent beds next to schools, parks and bus stops. The green-fingered should time their visit for the Filby Open Gardens on July 20, when private gardens and greenhouses open up to visitors. Stay on for boating and birdwatching on the Broads and lovely coast walks such as Winterton-on-Sea to Horsey, where you might spot seals. Check in at Black Barn for its indoor pool and hot tubs.
Details Room-only doubles from £135 (blackbarnfilby.co.uk)
Which town do you think puts on the best floral display? Let us know in the comments below
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