Welsh gardens named among UK’s best in public vote

Nation.Cymru Staff

A Welsh garden has been named an RHS Partner Garden of the Year following a nationwide public vote organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Aberglasney Gardens, in Carmarthenshire, was named winner of the RHS Nature Partner Garden of the Year for the Wales and South West region, recognised for its work to champion nature.

The annual competition, which ran between April and September 2026, asked RHS Members and garden visitors to vote on which garden they felt did so best.

Members of the public who chose Aberglasney praised it as a “place of discovery” and “a tranquil haven for people, plants and wildlife.”

“It’s the most amazing garden that has ‘risen from the ashes’ over the last 20 years or so,” one said, while another added
“Aberglasney is a superb, colourful, rich and varied garden and above all a place of profound peacefulness. The team, staff and volunteers alike live and breathe the beauty of the garden…”

The RHS Partner Garden scheme brings together independent gardens of significant horticultural interest across the UK and internationally.

It includes some of the most famous gardens in the world as well as privately-owned, lesser-known, gems, all united by a shared passion for plants, creativity and high horticultural standards.

Dr Tim Upson, RHS Director of Gardens and Horticulture, said: “In the often-challenging times in which we live, the beauty and tranquillity that comes with visiting gardens, with their chance to reconnect with nature, is so important to our wellbeing.

“All our RHS Partner Gardens are on the frontline of championing nature, encouraging wildlife and supporting biodiversity and special congratulations must go to our overall winner, Shuttleworth Swiss Garden, and all our Partner Garden of the Year regional winners for being recognised in our annual competition.”

Aberglasney was made famous by the BBC television series ‘A Garden Lost in Time’ which followed its restoration, and has a fully restored Elizabethan Cloister Garden that is the only surviving example of its kind in the UK today.

Open throughout the year, visitors can explore ten acres and over 20 different garden styles including formal, woodland, sub-tropical and modern, as well as with the fully restored ground floor of Aberglasney’s grade II* listed mansion, which hosts exhibitions and events.

Reacting to the award, Aberglasney Gardens’ Director, Helen Scutt, said: “We are thrilled to have won this prestigious award, especially this year when the theme is nature as it is woven through every corner of Aberglasney.

“We happen to have all the environments that suit nature including stone walls and woodlands. Like our visitors, Aberglasney’s wildlife, even the otters and barn owls, like the tranquil environment around the gardens. We safeguard nature and nature feels safe with us.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that voted for us.”

For more information on visiting Aberglasney, head to their site here.