Situated in Salford, it's the newest of their gardens, and as such still feels a little bit 'under construction' - not so much the hard landscaping of paths and water features, but the longer term settling and naturalising of plants.
We started our visit at the Walled Garden, a grid of planted spaces around a central water feature with connecting pools. It looked lovely, and rather 'mediterranean', though considering Manchester's reputation for rain, I'm not sure how delightful these features will be on a 'typical' day. We were fortunate with the sunshine and it was lovely to sit and listen to the water burbling up then running along from pool to pool
Something I've discovered divides garden visitors opinion is the RHS's love of name tags. For some they're a necessary way of learning what the plants are; for me they're an interruption to the beauty of the place. I like a garden to look natural and on the point of being overcrowded (it shows in my own back garden)
As with any new garden, there's a work in progress vibe to the area - trees are yet to achieve their full height, herbaceous plants will continue to mulitply and fill the beds - with a slightly sterile feel but I can imagine in a few years it will look much more lush.
Beyond the Walled Garden lies a fairly open area with wide paths, and not much happening plant-wise, but carrying on we came to an older, established area, part of the original Victorian gardens here, with trees and a pond below which a Chinese streamside garden is being developed.
This is still at a very early stage of development, with plants in process of being added, so it's very much left to imagination at the moment.
Doubling back to the exit, we found another lake - this time with the welcome addition of a cafe, so we ended our visit with tea and scones overlooking the water. Lovely on a warm day.
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