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Where to see 'Sub-Tropical' Gardens in Britain

Here is a selection of exotic or 'sub-tropical' gardens open to the public in the UK. If you have any more recommendations, please mail me with information (ideally the garden's name, address, phone-number and opening times. Plus a brief description and mention of any particularly notable palms or other unusual plants on display). To get things started, here is a brief guide to some West Country gardens:

RHS Garden Rosemoor
Great Torrington, North Devon EX38 8PH. Tel: 01805-624067
Open all year except Christmas day.
The Royal Horticultural Society's Devonshire 'home'. A broad mix of gardening styles including some palms and bamboos.

Abbotsbury Sub Tropical Gardens
Bullers Way, Abbotsbury, Weymouth, Dorset DT3 4LA. Tel: 01305-871387
Open all year.
Lush sub-tropical garden near the coast. Abbotsbury also sells its own-grown plants including some palms.

Trebah
Mawnan Smith, near Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 6JZ. Tel: 01326-250448
Open all year.
A 25 acre garden leading down to the sea. Includes tree-ferns and several tall Trachycarpus.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan
Pentewan, St. Austell, Cornwall PL26 6EN. Tel: 01726-844157.
Open all year except Christmas Day.
My favourite 'big' Cornish garden, said to be the 'garden restoration of the century'. Be sure to visit the Jungle - a ravine filled with tree ferns, palms and bamboos.

Lamorran House Gardens
Upper Castle Road, St. Mawes, Truro, Cornwall TR2 5B2. Tel: 01326-270800.
Open most Wednesdays and Fridays, April to September. At other times by appointment.
Not a big garden by Cornish standards (about 4 acres) but one of the most exotic for all that. The garden is lushly planted with a large variety of palms in addition to the expected Trachycarpus. This is a garden for the real enthusiast ( see details ). Don't miss it!

Tresco Abbey Gardens
Tresco, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall TR24 0QQ. Tel: 01720-422868
Open all year.
Proteas, acaceas, bromeliads and some mature Canary Island Date palms. But plan your trip in advance. You'll need to take a boat, plane or helicopter.

Scotland

Logan Gardens
Port Logan Stranraer Wigtownshire DG9 9ND 01776 860231
These gardens, near Stranraer, have many tree ferns, bamboos and palms.

Arduaine Garden
The National Trust for Scotland, Arduaine Garden, Arduaine, by Oban, Argyll. PA34 4XQ. Tel/fax 01852 200366
Maddenii rhododendrons, Trachycarpus fortunei, Gevuina avellana, Dicksonia antarctica and fibrosa, Fatsia papyrifera, Lophosoria quadripinnata, Echium candicans and many other tender plants. 20 acres of beautiful coastal garden.
Open every day from 9.30am to sunset.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB. Tel: 0181-332 5000
Open all year.
Trachycarpus and Chamaerops growing in various parts of the garden. Also (I am told), there is now a Washingtonia filifera about 8 feet tall and a Phoenix reclinata (which, when last seen, was wrongly labelled P. tomentosa) - not to forget the indoor palms in the Palm House and the Temperate House.

Chumleigh Gardens
Chumleigh Street, Burgess Park, London SE5. For more info, contact Caroline or Christine on 0171-277 4068.
Opening hours are from 2:00pm - 4:00pm on Tue, Thur and Sundays.
I haven't seen this garden myself. However, I am told that, though small, it is crammed with exotic plants including four mature T.fortunei's, and a mature Butia capitata."Well worth a visit when in London with a car." (Chris O'Reilly)

Chelsea Physic Garden
(no contact details)
Again, not a garden I have visited. I am told it has a good range of exotic plants including a Jubaea chilensis,