LUXURY ENGLISH GARDENS TO VISIT & TOUR
Violets and Tea are a boutique tour company that focuses exclusively on English gardens to visit and the RHS Flower Shows. We provide small-group and tailor-made luxury English garden tours with a personalised feel to garden lovers from around the world.
With plenty of wonderful gardens to visit in England, it’s hard to know where to begin. Our luxury garden visits will lead you through our itineraries that have been designed with the utmost care and attention to detail.
At Violets and Tea, we believe the best garden tours should be an experience you’ll remember for a lifetime, which is why we go above and beyond to make our luxury garden tours as magical as possible. When you join us for garden visits, the stresses of everyday life will melt away, and you’ll be immersed into a world of beauty, calmness and little luxuries. We handpick our gardens to visit based on their beauty, historical significance and the range of plants and flowers, so any garden lovers can feel assured you’ll be touring the best gardens in England. Plus, you will learn the secrets of these gardens from intimate talks and guided tours from head gardeners and estate owners.
We also offer custom garden tours where your garden visit can be completely personalised to your tastes and interests. You can provide us with a list of requirements or leave it to us to curate a perfectly suited itinerary for your tour. You will receive exclusive access to some of the most beautiful spots in English gardens, be guided through stunning countryside landscapes and estates and explore quintessentially English villages.
Discover more about our luxury English garden visits and what you can expect below.
The Violets and Tea Philosophy
The Violets and Tea philosophy is one of personal service, providing you with luxury and comfort whether you are a guest on one of our small-group escorted tours or on a tailor-made tour curated specifically for you. This includes a focus on providing garden visits of uncompromising quality and a commitment to finding those unique experiences and precious moments that you remember long after you have returned home.
MEET ELIZA FORD
Violets and Tea is owned and managed by Eliza Ford, a permanent resident in England, originally from Australia.
Eliza first became interested in gardens when she restored a historic American homestead in New England. In researching the homestead, she discovered that the garden was inspired by the original owner’s Grand Tour to Europe in the early 19th century, and in particular, English landscape gardens. On returning to the UK, Eliza decided to learn more about historic English gardens. She started to visit gardens for design inspiration and to find out more about their history and often colourful creators.
What started as a bit of research, quickly developed into a passion. Seeking new opportunities (read ‘excuses’) to visit gardens, Eliza started organising tours for visiting friends and family, so sharing her new-found interest. Being a visitor to this country herself, Eliza was able to understand what would capture the interests of her guests and could provide them with unique insight and historical information along the way.
Out of this, Violets and Tea was born.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM OUR LUXURY GARDEN VISITS
Our team are passionate about uniting garden lovers and the very best gardens to visit in England, so each of our itineraries have been curated with love and care. We keep our group sizes so that each member can feel like they are receiving a personalised experience and have plenty of opportunities to ask questions of our expert team, guest speakers and professional gardeners. You can expect to be on your tour with likeminded people who are enthusiastic about gardening and looking for a relaxing time away.
Our tours include luxury accommodation for the duration of the garden visits, each place is carefully chosen for comfortability and style. You can expect to stay in charming English estate hotels and houses, providing with a good night’s sleep and a sense of luxury. We also include unforgettable dining experiences, whether it’s a feast at the Michelin-starred Fischers’ of Baslow Hall or sipping champagne and tucking into a classic English cream tea at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
At Violets and Tea, we care about the little things, making the top gardens to visit in English that extra bit special. Imagine spending the morning walking a beautiful English garden, learning about the history and the flowers, before sitting down to indulge in a cream tea in front of a British countryside view bursting with colour and wildlife. Come afternoon you’re exploring private gardens and uncovering hidden gems at famous English estates, all before settling down for a warm meal and night’s sleep at some of England’s most luxurious hotels. Experiences like these are what makes Violets and Tea so unique for our guests and has them leaving the garden tours relaxed and with the best memories.
The team at Violets and Tea are committed to ensuring our guests receive a stress-free experience from the moment you book to the moment you leave our garden visits. So, if you have any questions regarding our luxury English garden tours, what you can expect or how to book, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team. Alternatively, if you’re an expert gardener or landscaper and would love to be a guest speaker, or you would love your estate, hotel or garden to be part of our tours, it would be great to hear from you.
To discover more about our tours you can browse our 2021 programme of garden tours. From exploring subtropical landscapes in Cornwall to enchanting gardens in the Cotswolds, you will be sure to find the perfect garden experience for you.
Image credits: Eliza Ford
