Waterperry Gardens are one of the delights of English Garden visiting, but many might miss it as it is not a glamorous, 'Rock-Star-Garden' like Hidcote, Sissinghurst or Great Dixter.

All this is a great shame as there are so many wonderful 'second-tier' gardens that are generally better to visit as you can enjoy classic English garden design and ambience without the huge crowds.

Waterperry is one such garden and it is very close to Oxford and really not much of a hike from London.

Largely developed by Beatrix Havergal as a School of Horticulture for Ladies in the mid 20th century, it has been meticulously planted with much insight and as a result we the visitors enjoy the fruits of those labours today.  It takes great skill to select and plant mixed borders and there are some excellent examples here.

This is a compact gardens overall covering 8 acres of beautifully landscaped ornamental gardens, a fascinating nursery and garden shop, gallery and gift shop, museum and tea shop and is open year round - though the wonderful mixed borders and rose garden are undoubtedly at their best in summer.

Like many English gardens it is divided up into 'rooms' of speciality including an Alpine garden, Formal garden, Rose garden, Rock garden, Arboretum, Allotment garden, Foliage border and the very pretty Water Lily Canal - amongst many others.

This is a place to wander at a slow pace to enjoy the richly diverse plant selection and peacefully beautiful settings.

Then when you've had your fill I recommend the small museum holding a wonderful array of garden orientated artefacts and tools, followed by a snack in the Tea Shop.