Dazzling colour displays at the Dorothy Clive Garden

Looking down into the Quarry Garden, which houses one of the best rhododendron collections in Britain

The rhododendrons and azaleas are in full bloom at The Dorothy Clive Garden near Market Drayton  on the Shropshire/Staffordshire borders, and if you want real eye candy, get there quick! This charming 12-acre garden was created by the late Colonel Clive in memory of his wife and is now run by the Willoughbridge Garden Trust. But it's quite spectacular at this time of year, so do make the effort to visit if you can. 

Eye-catching bronze stag sculpture in the Quarry Garden

The gardens are divided into two main areas - The Quarry Garden, which is cut into into a steep hill and filled with a fine collection of rhododendrons and azaleas - and the Hillside Garden. There is also a Gravel Garden which was added in 1990 to commemorate the garden's 50th anniversary. But it is the Quarry Garden that's in full bloom right now, so head there first if you want to see every colour in the rainbow in bloom.

Dense planting and eye catching colours make this garden spectacular throughout the summer

Colonel Harry Clive started the garden in 1936, when he began clearing pathways through the disused gravel quarry adjacent to his home, so that his disabled wife, Dorothy, could walk there. And the garden continued to grow as he collected more and more rhododendrons. Today there are more than 250 species and cultivars and it is one of the finest collections in the country. 

Lush green foliage is a striking feature in the Quarry Garden

The Gravel Garden, added 20 years ago, to celebrate the half century of the gardens, houses the spectacular laburnum arch, as well as a fine collection of grasses. But the striking laburnum - in full flower right now - and underplanted with purple alliums, is definitely the 'piece de resistance' in the garden this month. This is a laburnum walk to rival Rosemary Verey's at Barnsley House, and a close contender to the one at Bodnant, yet it rarely features in pictures on the internet.

The spectacular laburnum arch at the end of the Quarry Garden - in full flower in May

The Hillside Garden incorporates an alpine scree garden and has magnificent colourful borders, which are just now coming into bloom. But particularly impressive is the website for The Dorothy Clive Garden, which you can visit by clicking the link. This gives full details of what blooms throughout the year, together with details of all the plants you will find here. The garden is close enough to the M6 to be easily accessible from North and South and is one of the gardens that made a real impression on me during my last week of garden visiting.