Glen Trothy

The approach is hugely beguiling as the drive meanders up to the house. A terrace surrounded by roses, Nepeta and Euphorbias leads onto lawn, where an ancient Mulberry has been engulfed with rioting perennials. Above the house, pleached hornbeam, underplanted with white foxgloves and alliums surround the swimming pool and roses front the elegant Actinidia-covered pavilion. To one side is a garden of roses; old shrub roses and Clematis, set off by Lupins, Peonies, Alchemilla and box.

Llanover House

The family have lived here since 1792, when the bones of the garden were laid out. Later generations have added to the gardens, particularly planting trees and shrubs. Apart from the rich collection of spring-flowering Magnolias and Rhododendrons, the two arboreta in the garden have fine specimens as well as a number of Champion Trees. The garden is blessed with abundant water which fills the ponds, pours over cascades, meanders through the bog garden and eventually join the nearby River Usk.