DISCOVER 10 OF THE WORLD'S BEST KEPT SECRET GARDENS
WITH BOTANICA WORLD DISCOVERIES

The only niche botanical holiday operator to visit 100 private gardens a year

Botanica World Discoveries, the leading niche botanical cruise and tour operator, visits more than 300 gardens per year along with 10 garden shows & festivals across four continents. Botanica also has unprecedented access to 100 privately owned or undiscovered gardens and for those who love exploring, Botanica's top 10 best-kept global secret gardens include:

Tresco Abbey Garden, Isle of Sicily England
Established in the nineteenth-century by Augustus Smith as a private garden, 17 acres were transformed into a sub-tropical Abbey Garden that boasts 2,000 exotic plants. Even in winter more than 300 plants will be in flower with the garden displaying species from 80 countries including, Brazil, New Zealand, Burma and South Africa. Visitors will be surprised and delighted by the subtropical plants that have been nurtured in a colder climate off the coast of Cornwall.

The Laskett, Wales
A private garden started by the ex-director of the National Portrait Gallery and Victoria & Albert Museum, Sir Roy Strong CH, The Laskett Gardens are a haven in Herefordshire's idyllic countryside. The gardens have been designed to connect art and horticulture through the display of fascinating sculptures and references to art.

Inverewe Garden, Scotland
A botanical garden in the Scottish Highlands, it is one of the finest in the UK that is recognised for its breadth of collection. Sitting on 49 acres that boasts more than 2,500 exotic plants and flowers, with a further 2,000 acres managed for recreation and conservation. Part of the National Trust of Scotland, a dedicated team of gardeners keep the gardens blooming a riot of colour from April through to late Autumn, including the renowned rhododendron collection which begins flowering in January. Botanica guests will arrive by unique transportation via a Zodiac boat.

June Blake's Garden, Ireland
Wrapped around June's home, an award-winning, modern architectural Victorian conversion, visitors will be intrigued by the fusion of inspired design and painterly planting. Intricate borders, a flower meadow and stretches of woodland combine to together as a truly remarkable garden filled with eclectic plants.

Les Bois de Moutiers, France
Well-known for its rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias, the 30-acre estate, located in Varengeville-sur-Mer, Normandy, boasts a unique, first-class design by famous English partnership of architect Edwin Lutyens and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Listed as a historical monument and a Remarkable Garden on France, the estate still accommodates the descendants of the original family.

Cranbourne Botanic Gardens, Victoria, Australia
45km from Melbourne city Centre, The Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne showcases the natural beauty of Australia with a focus on conservation. Visitors will explore people's place in the Australian environment across several design awarded gardens that features 100,000 plants across 15 landscape displays and exhibition gardens. Completed after 20 years of planning, construction and planting it is a magnificent garden and conservation resource.

Wiltshire Garden, Australia (Judy Vanrenen's Garden)
Judy Vanrenen, Founder of Botanica World Discoveries, rural Victoria Australian property exudes Judy's passion for horticulture with the inclusion of celebrated native and global specie delights. Situated close to the spectacular southern Grampians, the garden has evolvedfrom a bare paddock, in 1948, to an eclectic cottage garden. Boasting rose bushes and shrubs 60 years old each Botanica group that visit is invited to plant a new tree in Judy's Wiltshire plantation reserve.

Ayrlies Garden, New Zealand
New Zealand's quintessential garden, 12-acres of rolling terrain, large lawns, ponds and waterways are edges with heavily planted bright informal borders. Lush sub-tropical plants, trees, and enticing structural features have been created to form a coastal garden first sowed in 1964.

Community Gardens, Singapore
Singapore boasts 700 community gardens that bring vibrancy across the city-centre from public to private housing estates, educational institutions and business enterprises. The newly formed green spaces have enticed charismatic birds and butterflies back to neighbourhoods and communities.

Yuushien Garden, Japan
Situated on an island, over 40 years Yuushien has grown to become one of the most splendid Japanese island gardens that allows a visitor to wander amongst trees, ponds, waterfalls and creatively organised planting. In spring two million Chisen peonies are gathered from around the garden and for one week only they are floated on the surface of the pond.

La Seigneurie de I'ile d'Orleans, Canada
75,000 lavender bushes adorn the six extensive gardens that have been tended to for nearly a decade. Considered one of the most beautiful private gardens in Canada, each garden has been designed around a theme with rare plants found throughout the grounds. Tour the Five Sense, Fruit Tree, Shaded, Japanese and Aboriginal Gardens.

For over 16 years Botanica has offered travellers boutique discovery holidays that grant access to highly acclaimed private gardens, exclusive international flower shows and world-renowned botanical occurrences, while also showcasing history, culture and gourmet experiences in luxurious style. Guests can choose from 40 carefully-crafted international river and sea cruises; Botanica hosts tours across Europe (UK, Italy, France, Netherlands, Croatia, Slovenia), Asia (Japan, China & Singapore), North America (Canada and USA), plus Australia & New Zealand.

Travellers with Botanica are automatically granted membership to the Botanica Club which gives benefits, discounts and offers to subsequent Botanica adventures. Membership also has reciprocal rights with APT. Botanica won a gold medal at the Hampton Court Flower Show 2015 for their Botanica World Discoveries garden designed by Anthea Guthrie. Botanica is accredited with major international travel bodies including ABTA, USTOA, IATA, AFTA and ATOL.

The company rewards customer loyalty and offers special discounts for repeat travellers and multiple bookers. For more information please visit www.botanica.travel or bookings can be made via 0800 046 3377 or info@botanica.travel.

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For more information please contact Elena Toselli and Lauren Williams on botanica@brightergroup.com or 020 7326 9880

Notes to Editors
Designed to interest gardeners and non-gardeners alike, Botanica World Discoveries are enriched with handpicked cultural experiences, combining magnificent gardens with iconic, must-see global attractions from stately homes and castles through to art masterpieces and breath-taking coastlines and riverways.

Botanica In Numbers:

• 1,000 – minimum number of guests who enjoy a holiday of a lifetime with Botanica World Discoveries each year
• 100 – number of private gardens (not normally open to the public) visited on Botanica tours & cruises
• 99.2% customer satisfaction rating
• 70% of guests are return travellers each year
• 45 unique itineraries each year with many being one off departures
• 33% are solo travellers
• The only tour operator in the World to fully charter small ships for creating botanically-themed cruises