The Geordie Tourist.

Yesterday I talked a little bit about Birkheads Secret Gardens and Nursery which you can find here. Today I’m going to talk more about the actual gardens.

I don’t want to go into too much detail with all of them because I don’t want to spoil it for you.  I don’t want to take away the secret element for you. Half the fun after all is exploring the unknown.  I’ll just talk about some of my favourite parts, which is most of them to be honest.

I loved the Millennium Avenue, which was a long walk with peonies, roses and lavenders among others in the border. You’ll find that a lot of the borders are colour coordinated which is just simply amazing. You get a good view of the house as you walk along too.

There’s a working bee hive which I was so amazed to see. It was situated in the vegetable garden. You could just see the bees flying in and out. I've never been so close to one before. I spotted homemade honey in the coffee shop, so I’m guessing they get it from their own bees. I love that although it’s pretty; it’s also a working garden. Being sustainable is a great achievement.

Throughout the various gardens there are statues and pieces made by local artists or to do with the history of the gardens, which is a great element. It was good reading about them and seeing how everything fits together.

Another favourite of mine was The Slate Circle Garden. It was filled with beautiful flowers, roses and lavender to give it a great scent. I love the smell of lavender and may have rubbed my fingers along a couple of stems so I could get a good whiff of it. The garden uses scented shrubs and perennials to attract butterflies and humans. It definitely attracted us alright and there were many butterflies gently landing on flowers before flying off again.

A child-like element was the Wishing Tree. Christine, (one of the owners of Birkheads) told my mam the story of how it came about and I was just fascinated by it. You’ll have to go and ask her yourself to find out. You can add your own key to it and make a wish. Bring your own from home or buy them at the gift shop if you forget. I think it’s great and although I didn't make a wish this time, it means I have an excuse to go back.

My all time favourite garden was the Meditation Retreat. I’m not even kidding, as soon as you stepped into it, you could have been somewhere else entirely. It had the wooden bridge going over the pond. The plants looked authentic, the gongs and lanterns. Everything about it was amazing and the exact replica of an oriental garden.

The whole place was indescribable. Each little section you went into transported you somewhere different. I don’t just mean geographically, just the elements of the gardens, the props, the themes and the colours. It tied everything together nicely and made the whole place fascinating.

Like I said in my previous post it's dog friendly as long as you keep your pooch on a lead. There are no bins for poop bags though. We just kept it next to the car until we left. It would be a great place for kids too.

It's £4.50 for an adult ticket. You can get season tickets (£12 each) or double season tickets (£23 for two) if you go and decide you want the season ticket you can deduct the £4.50 off the ticket which is great.

At the moment Birkheads is open 10am - 5pm Wed - Sun.

We opted for a season ticket. There's no doubt in my mind whether I'll go back. I'm just waiting for some snow maybe. That would make any garden magical, with this, so much more so...

Do any of you know any other garden places local?

When out and about the other day with Poppy dog, my mam and I stumbled upon Birkheads Secret Gardens and Nursery. We immediately asked if we could take the dog in, then drove home in a state of pure excitement when we found out you could. We then went back the next day. To go to a place of such wonder, one must prepare oneself.

The next day the sun was shining. (A good sign) We left bright and early with dog in tow (and Geoff, my mam's husband) to go and explore what I could already tell was going to be such an amazing place.

Birkheads is run by Mike and Christine who have lived in the property since 1978. Their passion for gardening and all things nature is apparent throughout the gardens. They both have experience, with Christine designing a couple of award winning gardens for the National Garden Festival in Gateshead, among other things. They are both nice, friendly people who greeted us when we arrived and continued to talk to us whenever we bumped into them. The place has a real homely feel and it’s like you’re just over at your friend’s house checking out what they've done to their garden, but on a much larger, better scale of course.

Before I went, I knew it was going to be something special, but I don’t think I was really prepared for what I was about to see. (I’ll get to that soon though.)

Firstly we went to the little coffee shop that they have and ordered a round of corned beef pies and drinks. The pie was so scrummy. It even came with some crisps which no one’s going to complain about. You can go to the coffee shop and nursery part of the property without paying. So if you just fancy a cuppa or you’re looking to buy yourself a little plant then they have you covered.

We sat out on the terrace which was lovely. Even there you could see how much detail goes into the gardens. There were various topiary bushes, statues and even stepping stones in the grass leading to a secluded entrance to another garden. There was a Chinese lantern hanging nearby. It honestly made me feel like a little kid exploring some place secret. (Hence the secret garden title I suppose.)

When it was time to go into the garden we found Christine in her little potting shed, which has been turned into a cute little gift shop containing crafts and wares from local people. We handed over £4.50 each, a total bargain in my opinion and then it was time to be amazed. We were given a guide to the garden. All of them are numbered so you can learn about the flowers in them etc. and find out about the history and things.

Now onto the actual gardens eeek….I’ve had to split this post because there’s just so much to talk about. I’m the kind of person that will take thirty different shots of a field, so you can imagine how many photos I took with such rich content. It was a job and a half just picking which ones to show. Also I want to do the gardens justice. They are fabulous and you really have to see them for yourself.

The gardens cover an area of almost 3 acres with 700m of borders in individually themed gardens. You enter through a little gate and are immediately greeted by blooming flowers and gorgeous plants, a little pond just off to the side. It’s your typical country garden done in style.

Even just the first garden we went into was mind blowing. The attention to detail not just with the plants and trees, but also the added little features like the pond, the barrels, places to sit. Everything has been thought out and planned and it's evident throughout.

I'll be bringing you part 2 tomorrow, so if this looks like your idea of heaven then pop back then for more.

Have any of you been to Birkheads before?