It finally feels like Spring is on its way and Lonely Planet has revealed the best gardens around the world bursting with beautiful blooms to put a spring in the step of horticulturalists and nature lovers, including Ireland's Garinish Island, Sissinghurst Castle in Kent and The Crawick Multiverse, Scotland.

The global travel expert has selected its top 10 best gardens to visit this Spring to immerse in flora and fauna. Selected from its new title Lonely Planet's The Joy of Exploring Gardens, which details 180 of the most amazing gardens across the globe, from La Paz Waterfall Gardens in Costa Rica to Wendy's Secret Garden in Australia. The inspiring coffee table book features tips on when to go, what to take with you, must-do activities, accessibility awareness, local transport advice and experiences not to be missed.

The best springtime gardens for UK / Irish travellers are:

1. Garinish Island, Ireland:  Located in a sheltered bay in west Cork, the valley heated by Gulf Stream currents is also known as the 'Jungle'. Here classical structures frame views of rhododendrons and azaleas which reach their peak in May and June creating a sea of vivid colours. Stately trees sway in the breeze and hundreds of cultivars of climbing plants and herbaceous perennials begin to bloom. With white-tailed sea eagles circling overhead and seals basking on the rocks, the boat trip to Garinish is a delight in itself.

2. Gardens of the Real Alcázar, Seville: Shielded from the city by tall, crenelated walls, the gardens are set apart by slender palms and the scent of citrus, jasmine, and aromatic herbs. The lush green spaces have grown organically through the ages, now filling 14 acres with over 170 species of plants, from fig trees to honeysuckle and over 1000 orange trees remain, one purported to be 600 years old. On the south side, visitors can unravel the secrets of an intricate maze or roam the wilder Jardín Inglés, with its sturdy oaks and strutting peacocks. Spring is the best times to visit as the weather is mild and the lush gardens are in full bloom, painting a landscape of vibrant colours.

3. Beth Chatto's Plants & Gardens, Colchester:  Located in Elmstead Market a small village east of Colchester. Award winning gardener and author, Beth Chatto spent decades creating the unique, 7.5 acres space, combining five different gardens, featuring spiky blue Mediterranean sea holly, swaying drifts of stipa grasses and lush lime green euphorbias which erupt like islands out of a sea of gravel. By mid-spring, carpets of bluebells can be seen in the woodland areas before the trees start to blossom overhead. Also home to a tearoom, nursery and shop, it makes for a delightful day out.

4. National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthney: Located at Middleton Hall in Carmarthenshire with its rolling green hills, picturesque woodland and string of lakes, the Garden is both a visitor attraction and a center for botanical research and conservation. Home to the impressive Norman Foster–designed Glasshouse, comprising of 785 panes, the largest single-span glasshouse in the world. The National Botanic Garden sits on a 500 acre site where visitors can wander through the east-facing wood which overlooks the Double Walled Garden, Springwoods is carpeted with primroses, snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells in early spring, with ornamental shrubs such as azaleas, rhododendrons and hydrangeas joining the sea of colour.

5. The Crawick Multiverse, Scotland: In the southwestern region of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland's newest art-land attraction has transformed a former coal mine into an incredible outdoor space. Exploring the ideas of astronomy, cosmology and space by laying out our current understanding of physics, the universe and all the possibilities beyond in human-made landforms, coiling walkways and large standing stones. With the change in season the Scottish landscape is covered in daffodils, cherry blossoms, crocuses, primroses and many other wildflowers.

6. Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent: First opened to the public in 1938, the garden and surrounding estate has been part of the National Trust since 1967. Spring is when the garden comes to life, the Lime Walk, Nuttery and South Cottage begin to fill their borders with colour. The first wave of purple arrives with the tulips, wallflowers, Lunaria annua and Hesperis Matronalis. Closely followed by a sea of daffodils in the Orchard and an incredible sight of 1,100 fruit trees presenting a canopy of blossom from the end of April.

7. Alnwick Garden, Northumberland: Divided into different 'rooms', self-contained gardens each with their own theme and feel are connected by winding paths. The Poison Garden featuring 326 Tai-Haku trees, the world's biggest collection, and the Ornamental Garden enclosed within high 18th-century walls, is a mix of manicured formality and overflowing planting and Spring brings a sea of snowdrops.

8. Isola Bella, Italy: The terraced gardens rise above the waters of Italy's Lake Maggiore like a leafy green ocean liner against a backdrop of red-roofed houses and snowcapped Alpine peaks. Wander through the lilac wisteria in April, red and pink roses in May, and fuchsia azaleas in June, while the resident white peacocks strut around whatever the season.

9. Domaine du Rayol, France:  The French Riviera's most original garden is hidden away on a twisting road outside of St-Tropez, featuring 14 different garden regions from around the world. The Canary Islands, Australia, California, South Africa and Chile are all represented alongside the Mediterranean, as well as four 'guest' gardens honouring regions with slightly drier or more tropical climes. In Spring visitors can see the scarlet flowers of South African coral trees, Australian callistemons, New Zealand manuka, Californian Romneya poppy and Japanese fringed iris.

10. Arctic–Alpine Botanic Garden, Norway: Located in the city of Tromsø, 217 miles above the Arctic Circle, 714 miles north of Oslo, and covered in snow for much of the year. However, in Spring the garden offers an abundance of floral colour, rhododendrons sprawl over rocky slopes, delicate primulas, gentians and auriculas sprout among rocky boulders, while buttercups, anemones, windflowers, and saxifrages bloom until the first snows arrive in October. Plants have been selected for their hardiness from all around the globe, including the Himalayas, the Andes, New Zealand, the Falkland Islands, Tajikistan, Taiwan, Morocco, Afghanistan, Lesotho, and Mexico.

Images can be found here

Check out Lonely Planet's The Joy of Enjoying Gardens, for more on the world's best gardens. RRP £19.99 available from shop.lonelyplanet.com/en-gb or where all good books are sold.

Media enquiries please contact LonelyPlanet@goshpr.co.uk

Notes to Media:

• A digital copy of the book, front cover and destination images and the Lonely Planet logo are available on request
• Extracts available on request
• Tom Hall, Head of Lonely Planet UK is available for interview
• Social media: @lonelyplanet #JoyofEnjoyingGardens

About Lonely Planet - Lonely Planet has been guiding travel for 50 years with a core belief that travel is for everyone. A trusted voice in travel guidance, Lonely Planet is part of the Red Ventures portfolio, and has been dedicated to providing actionable inspiration for every kind of traveller since 1973,

Lonely Planet's mission is to help more people from more backgrounds experience the joy of going places. Over the past 50 years Lonely Planet has printed over 150 million guidebooks covering 221 countries as well as countless other titles showcasing the wonders of the world for travellers of all types.

Lonely Planet reaches hundreds of millions of travellers each year online and across social channels helping them unlock amazing experiences.  Lonely Planet can be found on lonelyplanet.com, mobile, video, social media, and in 14 languages, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks and more. 

Join Lonely Planet online at lonelyplanet.com/newsletter as well on Facebook (facebook.com/lonelyplanet), Twitter (@lonelyplanet), Instagram (instagram.com/lonelyplanet), TikTok (@lonelyplanet), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/lonelyplanet).