Wander up a garden path in North East England and who knows where it could lead?

From North Northumberland to the Tees Valley, secret and not-so-secret gardens offer experiences as diverse as the plant life that twines, towers and blossoms within. Here you can spend an afternoon or a fortnight in botanic gardens or rolling parkland; cottage and herb gardens; wonderful water features and amazing mazes.

You'll find historic gardens as glorious backdrops for grand country houses: Capability Brown, born in Northumberland in 1716, influenced the forest garden at Gibside among others in the region. The medieval Crook Hall in County Durham shelters a garden inspired by Shakespeare. At the other end of the timescale, The Alnwick Garden showcases the
Duchess of Northumberland's vision for the 21st century, with its Grand Cascade, Labyrinth and one of the world's largest treehouses.

Head for the coast and Holy Island to marvel at Gertrude Jekyll's spectacular walled garden in the lea of Lindisfarne Castle. Inland, our towns and cities shelter green retreats such as Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens with its tree ferns and exotic gingers, and Nature's World in Middlesbrough includes a cutting-edge garden without any
soil. Whatever your particular plant passion, you'll find it - and more - on the following pages.