Brilliant daffodil gardens to visit in spring

Carpets of cheerful daffodils paint a glorious picture of spring, casting off the dark days of winter and heralding sunnier days ahead.

In public and private gardens, the vast range of species, from zingy tall drifts of bright yellow blooms, to patio doubles, multi-stemmed fragrant varieties and colours ranging from creamy white to deep apricot provide gardeners with plenty of inspiration.

There are almost 32,000 daffodil cultivars listed globally in the International Daffodil Register,  maintained by the RHS. The horticultural charity’s annual Daffodil Diaries campaign to plot daffodils flowering across the UK returns on February 16 with gardeners invited to log sightings of daffodils flowering in gardens and public spaces across the country.

More than 3,000 submissions were sent in 2025, helping to monitor how environmental factors and geography influence daffodils and evolving fashions, says the RHS.

The best way to appreciate daffodils is to visit gardens which offer impressive displays of these blooms, which start flowering in late February and continue well into spring.

Here are just a few of the gardens where you may find inspiration.

1. RHS Garden Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire

A glowing ‘golden mile’, created by some 22,000 daffodil bulbs planted by the team on the approach to the garden, brings a massive burst of spring cheer. Once within the garden, visitors can bask in the colour and scent of more than 70,000 daffodils across 70 different narcissus species and cultivars. Head for the Woodland edge, around the Queen Mother’s Lake, in the Kitchen Garden and Alpine House for the best displays.

2. Lower Bowden Manor, Berkshire (open by arrangement for the National Garden Scheme to November 27 for groups of between 12 and 40)

This stunning seven-acre garden created by designer Juliette Cox-Nicol features specimen trees with contrasting bark and foliage, underplanted with great carpets of daffodils in spring, with stunning views and thought-provoking structure. Versailles planters with standard topiaries line a rill, while a stumpery leads to the orchard’s swathes of daffodils in shades of yellow, ivory and fragrant white, followed later by a wave of white hydrangeas.

3. Albury Park, Surrey (open March 22 for daffodils, for the National Garden Scheme)

The 14-acre grounds of this country park were laid out in the 1670s by diarist and landscape gardener John Evelyn, for Henry Howard, who would later become the 6th Duke of Norfolk. The garden is famed for its terraces, a yew walk, a fine collection of mature trees, a lake and a river.

4. Penrhyn Castle and Garden, Gwynedd 

When winter seems a distant memory, expect a show-stopping display of narcissi, at its peak from around mid-March until late April, many of which carpet the wooded areas and to the front of the keep in this fantasy castle built in the early 19th century, managed by the National Trust. Of course, the daffodil is synonymous with Wales, so there should at least be some colour by St David’s Day on March 1. Visitors may want to return to see the different varieties flowering at various times in the season.

5. RHS Garden Rosemoor, Devon

RHS Garden Rosemoor has long enjoyed blankets of glorious daffodils throughout its grounds, from naturalising in the meadow areas to brightening up borders and creating pops of colour in pots. To make the garden’s impressive daffodil displays even more spectacular, the garden team have planted thousands of additional daffodil bulbs in beds, containers and meadow areas in recent years, including 2,000 of its namesake Narcissus ‘Rosemoor Gold’. See drifts of the native daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus in the Stream Garden, while unusual hoop petticoat daffodils, N. bulbocodium and Welsh daffodil, N. obvallaris, turn Lady Anne’s Arboretum into a canvas of golden yellow.

6. Clumber Park, Worksop, Nottinghamshire

This 3,800-acre park – historically part of the famous Sherwood Forest synonymous with Robin Hood – transforms in the spring with carpets of daffodils painting the woodland and flower beds yellow. More than 180,000 bulbs have been planted in recent years, with planting schemes working in unison to create an impressive blanket of colour throughout the whole season. Visitors should also look out for a spectacular burst of golden blooms in front of the Greek Temple on the south side of the lake.

7. Brodie Castle Gardens, Brodie Moray, Scotland

The daffodil is synonymous with Brodie Castle, thanks to Ian Brodie, 24th Laird of Brodie, whose interest in these yellow blooms led to him becoming an eminent breeder in the late 19th and early 20th century. The castle gardens became his workshop, where he raised tens of thousand of plants and it is still rated one of the best places in Scotland to see daffodils. It’s home to a National Daffodil Collection and other gardeners have followed his lead – to date there are around 400 types of Brodie Daffodils. Visit in April to see them at their brightest.

8. Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, County Down, Northern Ireland

Drifts of sunny daffodils grace the 100-acre gardens of this grand Georgian estate and royal residence 20 minutes outside Belfast. Managed by the charity Historic Royal Palaces, more than 19,000 bulbs were added in 2022, with narcissi prominently featured on the castle mound, in the formal gardens and throughout the grounds. As well as admiring the Northern Irish daffodils, visitors will also see hyacinths, camellias and rhododendron in spring, along with blankets of woodland bulbs and a picturesque Yew Tree Walk.

9. Stourhead, Wiltshire

Take a walk by Turner’s Paddock Lake and you will find vast drifts of cheery bright yellow daffodils around the 18th century Palladian bridge. The lake is designed to resemble a flowering river and is part of a 2,650-acre estate, with the main designed landscaping of the garden covering around 80 acres and featuring temples, grottos and ancient trees.

10. Rydal Mount and Gardens, Cumbria (Opens for the National Garden Scheme on March 30 and 31, April 1, June 1, 2 and 3. Visit rydalmount.co.uk for more opening information)

Situated between Ambleside and Grasmere in the heart of the Lake District, Rydal Mount was famously William Wordsworth’s family home – and is still owned by the Wordsworth family – and visitors can admire the five-acre garden he created featuring, of course, an abundance of daffodils. It also offers breathtaking views of the surrounding fells and Rydal Water. Wordsworth was a talented landscape gardener as well as a poet, and the Rydal Mount garden is the largest example of his design. Wander along the terraces and informal herbaceous borders and admire the trees planted by the poet.

11. Goldsborough Hall, North Yorkshire (opens March 29 for the National Garden Scheme)

Fans of the famous garden designer Gertrude Jekyll will appreciate the 120ft double herbaceous borders, woodland walk and rose garden which she inspired in this historic 12-acre garden and formal landscaped grounds in parkland, set around the former residence of HRH Princess Mary, daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, in the 1920s. The 17th century historic house, near Harrogate, also offers five-star stately stays.