None more so than Dewstow Gardens, near Chepstow.  The gardens were originally built around the turn of the 20th century and included all the things you’d expect in gardens – rockeries, ponds, water features and loads of plants and shrubs etc. But the highlight was a subterranean world of tunnels and grottoes housing many tropical and unusual plants.

Over the years the gardens fell into disrepair and the tunnels and grottoes were filled in and forgotten about. That is until the start of the 20th century when the land’s new owners started clearing the land. Curiosity got the better of them so they started digging and were amazed to discover the network of tunnels that had laid undiscovered for over 50 years.

A massive restoration project was undertaken and today the gardens have been restored to their former glory so that we can enjoy what was hidden away for decades.

To find out more about Dewstow Gardens click here

Thompson’s Park subdivides into two sections. The upper two thirds of the park, known as Sir David’s Field, is a level plateau, now used informally as a playing field, encircled by a path with distant views of the hills south west of Cardiff.
On the lower level, the garden is more ornamental, laid out with lawns, a circular pond and fountains and small lake. East of the lake, ‘The Dell’ comprises the embankment between the two sections, where the path rises via a series of stone steps through woodland to the upper level.

The name ‘Sir David’s Field’ marks the site’s association with the Mathew family of Llandaff. Sir David Mathew was granted the land in the fifteenth century for services to the king. Eventually the land was sold to the Romilly family in 1818.
In 1852, the Cardiff Freehold Society purchased parts of the Romilly estate as part of a national campaign to enfranchise people – those who purchased a plot of freehold land and built a house with a minimum value of £150 were granted the right to vote.
Charles Thompson moved to Cardiff in 1857, after Spiller Milling became established in the town He became chairman of the company in 1860 and moved to Preswylfa, one of the houses on the former Freehold Society land, in 1870. His son, also called Charles Thompson, started working for the same company in 1874, rising to become a director in 1887. He was also a prominent local businessman and it was he who owned Sir David’s Field which eventually became the park.
In 1891, Charles Thompson junior opened the garden to the public as a philanthropic gesture. The family were already well known for their public spirited generosity, having made contributions to a wide range of public projects including University College, Cardiff and the National Museum.
In 1896, the garden area was extended and laid out by William Goldring – the well known Victorian designer. Goldring was assistant editor of The Garden and editor of Woods and Forests between 1879 and 1886. He later set up as a landscape architect in 1887. His work included private houses, asylums and public parks across the UK and commissions in India, France and the United States.
Evidently the park was popular, in 1897 urinals were built on the site and the layout also included a playground with wooden framed swings. In 1899, Thompson commissioned Sir William Goscombe John to install the bronze statue of ‘Joyance’– now one of the iconic features of the park.

In April 1911, Charles Thompson and his wife Honora hosted a garden party in the park at which he announced that he would hand over the freehold of the site to Cardiff Corporation as long as they renounce the right to build upon Llandaff Fields and ensured the site remained an open space forever. The gardens were given the name ‘Thompson’s Park’ to commemorate the gift. Boundary stones in the park inscribed with Roman numerals denote the area of the park conveyed to Cardiff Corporation. Thompson continued to maintain the park until 1924, when he requested that the Corporation take on three gardeners and three caretakers to be employed by him to carry on the work.

The park has altered little from its original layout, although its surroundings have changed following the development of Cardiff in the early 20th century. The Thompson family home of ‘Preswylfa’ was demolished in around 2003, but another property, Dulwich House, on Pencisely Road, which was opened by the Thompsons as a convalescent home for ‘tired mothers and sick children’ still remains. The park is designated Grade 2 on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens in Wales.

Thompsons Park

Insole Court was built by James Harvey Insole (1821 – 1901), a local coal owner and shipper, whose father, George Insole, was one of the pioneers of the coal trade and railway development in south Wales. The original house was built in 1851, but as his business expanded, James extended and improved the house, transforming it into a Gothic style mansion with the services of his architect, George Robinson, assisted by Edwin Seward. New wings were added and by 1882 it was being referred to as the leading residence in the locality. Further extensions and outbuildings were added, the improvements continuing until after the First World War, when the family’s fortunes began to decline.

In 1860, work started on laying out the gardens and these continued to be developed until the 1920s. They were described in the Gardener’s Chronicle of 20 May 1882 as being well planted with many specimen trees and shrubs and particular mention was made of the masses of natural rockwork which had been planted with collections of alpines and rock plants.

During the Edwardian period, the garden became nationally recognised for its collections of irises and alpines. Violet insole (1884-1933), the unmarried grand daughter of James, was one of the leading experts on irises and developed several new strains at Insole Court.

Sadly, in the 1930s, the family’s influence had declined and the house and grounds were compulsorily purchased in 1932 by Cardiff Corporation to make way for a new road, now Western Avenue. The majority of the estate was developed for housing, but the house and garden remained in Council ownership, becoming a much loved community facility.

Unfortunately council resources have not been able to maintain or restore the property to anything matching its former glory, but the Insole Court Trust has recently been formed and is working in partnership with the council towards a takeover of responsibility for the property. This has unlocked the potential for increased investment and new purpose for the site. The house is already benefitting from a long term plan and this will shortly extend to include the garden.

Even before restoration, the house and garden are magnificent survivors of the Victorian age. The house is a Grade 2* listed property, and there are additional listings on many of the outbuildings and stonework. The garden is listed as Grade 2* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens in Wales.

Insole Court

Cathays Cemetery is laid out as a Victorian Garden Cemetery in line with the ideas of John Claudius Loudon with chapels, lodge and gateway designed by Mr. Robert G. Thomas of Newport, together with Mr. Thomas Waring, town engineer and cost £5,200.

The Victorians would visit and treat cemeteries in a similar way that we do parks today and often they would spend their Sunday afternoons walking through the cemetery enjoying the peacefulness and the vast array of plants and trees, many imported from overseas. When Cathays opened it was designed to form the principal walk for the people of Cardiff since (until 1894 when Roath Park opened) Cathays Cemetery was the only green space for all people to access and walk through.  Trees generally had their details close by them for the public to learn their names.

The site has continued to provide burial space to the people of Cardiff up to 1986 when it was closed for any new burials and has remained so to date with only burials in existing family or pre-purchased graves being permitted. Since 1996 three trails have been developed for the Fairoak Road side of the cemetery. The Heritage Trail, Insignia Trail and Tree Trail look at different aspects of the cemetery from memorials and famous historical people, to the wide ranging military insignia found on the Commonwealth War Graves Headstones to the wide variety of trees planted on the site. All the walks are self guided and copies are available in the information centre.

Cathays Cemetery is a Grade II* listed site within the Cadw Register of Register of Landscapes Parks and Gardens and the Cemetery gateway and forecourt walls; mortuary chapels and reception room are Grade II listed. In addition Cathays was awarded a Green Flag in 2009 and was the first cemetery in Wales to receive this award which means that the cemetery has been judged to be a welcoming place, which is safe and secure and well maintained. We also undertake measures to ensure the sustainability of the site and conserve its history and heritage for all. The Cemetery is a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation due to the number of wax caps found on the site and there is wide community involvement in the cemetery through the Friends of Cathays Cemetery and Walking for Health group

Cathays Cemetary

New featured gardens are still more than welcome now that the site has been officially launched, and we also encourage anyone with a story to tell about a local green space, country park, manor house, or public park to tell it here!

All month long Inspirational Botanists- Women of Wales exhibition at the National Botanic Gardens, Llanarthe.

Until Sunday 4th Crickhowell Walking Festival. A full program of guided walks will be complimented by an equally full program of eating, drinking, and social events.

Thursday 1st to Sunday 11th Celtic Week at the Gower Heritage Centre. Here, St David’s Day is celebrated in style. There will be coracle demonstrations, re-enacted mediaeval battles, traditional craft displays, and a whole range of special activities for kids.

Thursday 1st St David’s Day at Fagan’s Museum. There will be traditional Welsh music and a special menu on offer (including free Welsh cakes). Entry is free on any day.

Saturday 3rd World Book Day at Bedwellty House and Park. Kids can join in reading and story activities and even win prizes. There will also be a community used books fair in the carriage house.

Saturday 3rd St David’s Day Lunch at Parc Bryn Bach.

Sunday 4th The Story of Wales at Caerphilly Castle. As part of the BBC’s Story of Wales program, special tours will be held- watch out for a guest from the 19th Century.

Saturday 11th and Saturday 25th Rhymney River Cleanup days. Our friends at Cardiff Rivers Group (@CardiffRivers) will be hard at work helping the Rhymney stay beautiful. They’re always looking for new volunteers!

Saturday 11th Kid’s Lavender Bag workshop at Cwmcarn Forest. Scented lavender sachets make great gifts for Mothering Sunday…

Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th Canoe Championships at Parc Taf Bargoed. Aberfan Canoe Club also hold regular events on the lake, so if watching the competition whets your appetite for trying paddle sports yourself, it’s a great place to get involved.

Sunday 18th Free entry for mums at Dyffryn Gardens. Bring your mother to the arboretum at no extra charge to celebrate Mothering Sunday.

Saturday 24th Special Ghost Tour, Llancaiach Fawr Manor. Enjoy a meal, a talk by South Wales Paranormal Research Group, and a tour of the Manor’s spookier features.

Sunday 25th Spring Welcome at RSBP Newport. Come to the wetlands reserve to celebrate the Vernal Equinox and discover all the signs of spring.

Sunday 25th Sunday Best at Tretower Court. Visit on this particular day and you’ll find the 15th Century occupants of Tretower ready and waiting to say hello.

Thursday 29th Ask the Gardener at St Fagan’s Museum. This time around, it’s all about planting potatoes. The St Fagan’s gardeners can answer all your potato related questions and give you top tips for growing your own spuds.

Friday 30th Music at Rhondda Heritage Park. Dan and Laura Curtis celebrate the Great American Songbook.

The land at Cathays Park was originally the site of a farmstead. The land was acquired by the first Marquess of Bute who demolished the original house in about 1812 to build a new house for his second wife. Unfortunately the new mansion was short-lived as he died in 1814 and his successor, his grandson, had the house demolished in 1824.

As the castle developed, the Cathays Park land became part of the castle estate. Cardiff Corporation approached the third Marquess of Bute on several occasions during the latter half of the nineteenth century to purchase the land for a park, but were rebuffed. On one occasion they were informed that his Lordship could not relinquish that land as he would have nowhere to ride his horse when in town.

From 1873 onwards, as the Castle Pleasure Grounds were developed, the Cathays Park land became the productive part of the garden. Andrew Pettigrew, was brought down from Scotland in 1873 and established in a new house, Castle Lodge, within Cathays Park. Along with Lord Bute, Pettigrew oversaw the development of the estate including extensive orchards, a nursery garden with glasshouses for food production and the planting of a double avenue of elms through the park.

Eventually, in 1897, after protracted negotiation, the Marquess of Bute was persuaded to sell the land to Cardiff Corporation. The reason for his change of heart was the vision of a grand municipal civic centre in a parkland setting. Certain stipulations were made about the existing landscape giving rise to the retention of the avenue of trees, which became King Edward VII Avenue, and the development of the open spaces around which the buildings would sit.

The plans for the park were drawn up in 1899 by William Harpur, Municipal Engineer to the corporation, working with W. W. Pettigrew, eldest son of Andrew Pettigrew, who was appointed Head Gardener to the Corporation in 1892.

At the heart of Cathays Park is Alexandra Gardens, the central garden laid out in 1903. The Welsh National Memorial of the European War, unveiled in 1928 – a magnificent Portland stone memorial of exceptional quality, forms an imposing central feature to the gardens. Later memorials have been erected to the fallen at the Falklands War and the Spanish Civil War.

South of the garden is City Hall, flanked on either side by the Law Courts and the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. In front of this lies the Gorsedd Gardens, a small informal garden named after the standing Gorsedd Stones that were re-erected here in 1905 having been used previously for the National Eisteddfod of 1899 which was held in Cathays Park. This park holds a number of important statues of notable figures in Cardiff’s civic life.

Further south again lies the Friary Gardens now bounded by roads on two sides. The dock feeder canal runs through the northern part of the gardens and the northern bank is enclosed and planted according to the wishes of the third Marquess of Bute.

The south part of the garden is laid out as a formal parterre with box hedges enclosing seasonal planted beds and gravel paths. This was initially known as the ‘Dutch Gardens but later renamed the Friary Gardens to commemorate the nearby site of the Greyfriars friary.

Grangetown was traditionally an area of housing for dock workers and in 1892 an area of about 1.2 ha (3 acres) of land was donated by Lord Windsor and the Marquess of Bute for the purpose of laying out a public park for the expanding local population. The park was given the name Grange Gardens before work commenced in 1893.

Prior to the development of modern day Grangetown, this area was a low-lying coastal marshland criss-crossed with drainage ditches or ‘reens’. The name refers back to the 12th century when the land was a medieval grange or farm, worked by the Cistercian monks of Margam Abbey.

The park was designed by W. W. Pettigrew, Head Gardener to Cardiff Corporation, working alongside William Harpur, Municipal Engineer to the Corporation. Initially the level of the land was raised using refuse and scalpings and the park was laid out and planted between 1894 and 1895, eventually opening to the public in June 1895.

The bowling green was an early recreational feature, first laid out in 1906, although it had to be partially rebuilt in 1909 as a result of ground erosion – a consequence of the original groundwork failing to take account of the drainage ditches which had crossed the site!

Grange Gardens was the first park in Cardiff to have a bandstand, installed in February 1895 at the cost of £100. The structure was of an unusual design with twin pillars and ornate roof, but the original was taken away at some time after the Second World War. An ornate drinking fountain canopy installed in 1909 had also been removed in 1943 leaving the park bereft of some of its original character. However Heritage Lottery Funding paid for replica structures cast from the original designs to be reinstalled in 2000, restoring the park to its former glory..

The park still contains the original Caretaker’s Shelter dating from 1894 and the Grangetown War Memorial, which was erected in 1921 using funds raised by local voluntary subscription.

Despite its traditional origins, Grange Gardens is still very much a community park. The bowling green is open to the public during the summer season, the tennis court has been converted to a multi use games area and a new children’s play area has been built. The bandstand provides a venue for community events and the park is a well used and much loved green space.

Victoria Park was laid out on the site of the former Ely Common between 1894 and 1897. It was designed by W.W. Pettigrew, Head Gardener to Cardiff Corporation, working in co-operation with William Harpur, the Corporation’s Municipal Engineer.

During its development, the layout of the park was modified to include a small lake to appease local Councillors who wanted to retain a pond within the site so that Canton had a park that would match up to Roath Park which had opened in 1894. Early intentions were to develop the park into a zoological garden and from 1900 onwards the park housed a growing collection of animals and birds, mostly presented to the Parks Department by returning seafarers who had collected them on their travels.

The most famous resident of the park was ‘Billy the seal’, a grey seal presented in 1912, who lived in the lake. There are many local folk tales about Billy’s escape from the park during floods in the 1930s. After his death in 1939, his body was given to the National Museum of Wales, at which point it became evident that Billy was actually a female! He is now commemorated in a statue by David Peterson erected in 1997 next to the paddling pool, which was constructed in the 1950s following the infilling of the original lake. The zoological collection waned during the inter war period and was dispersed around the time of the Second World War.

In 1995 the Heritage Lottery Fund provided funding for the restoration of the park, including the installation of a replica bandstand cast from the original moulds of the bandstand in the park. The site also boasts tennis courts, a bowling green and an extensive children’s playground making it a popular and well used local facility. The paddling pool is open during summer holiday periods.

Refreshments are available from the ice cream kiosk in the park and there are public toilets on site.

The layout of the Cardiff Castle pleasure grounds was executed by Andrew Pettigrew, Head Gardener to the third Marquess of Bute between 1873 and 1903. Pettigrew was brought to Cardiff from another Bute property, Dumfries House in Scotland, to work with William Burges, who was responsible for the remodelling of Cardiff Castle in all its Victorian gothic splendour. Cardiff’s famous Animal Wall, inspired by Burges, now forms the southern boundary of the park.

Pettigrew was an instinctive gardener, there are no records or plans of his work, but his style was understated and extensive, in contrast to the high gothic architecture of the castle. Expansive lawns, carefully grouped trees and bold shrub borders created a setting designed to show the castle off to best effect.

In 1947, following the death of the fourth Marquess of Bute, both the Castle and Pleasure Grounds were gifted to Cardiff Corporation. At the same time the Corporation purchased further lands from the estate to create the extent of the park that is seen today – 59 ha in total (146 acres) and the site was given the name Bute Park. Part of the new acquisition was the Blackweir sportsground which continues in use today.

In the second half of the 20th century, the then Director of Parks, Bill Nelmes, began developing the park as an Arboretum collections, which has been added to over the years and now contains over 2,500 named trees. In addition to this there are expanses of semi natural woodland which provide a habitat for a wide range of birds and mammals, including several species of bats.

In 2007, the site received £3.1 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards a total project costing £5.6 million to restore and conserve the park for the future. Research into the site has revealed the site has a complex history, closely associated with the development of Cardiff over the last 1,000 years.

As well as the arboretum collection, features in the park include a magnificent herbaceous border, a collection of carved tree sculptures, the site of the 13th century Blackfriars friary, the dock feeder canal, (which still supplies water for Cardiff Docks) and an expansive landscape which belies the park’s location next to the Millennium Stadium and a stone’s throw from Cardiff’s main shopping centre.

The park hosts an extensive events programme throughout the year, including the RHS Spring Flower Show in April, Cardiff Mardi Gras and the annual firework display, ‘Sparks in the Park’, in November. Details of the whole programme can be found on the Council’s website. A water bus service operates from the park to Cardiff Bay.

Bute Park Education Centre is located within the park, set behind a garden wall, and playing on the concept of a ‘secret garden’. The centre is accessed through a large, beautifully carved oak door designed by local woodcarvers to tell the story of the park, providing a venue for exhibitions, training and educational events, including school visits.

Refreshments are available from various kiosks in the park, serving a range of homemade light meals and snacks, using local and fair trade produce and high quality coffee and speciality teas.