'Botanic' is No1 winter wonderland
The National Botanic Garden of Wales is the No 1 winter wonderland in the UK, according to garden writer Stephen Anderton. Writing in The Times’ Weekend section, Stephen describes the Garden’s Great Glasshouse as “the best place to be in winter” and he rates our Tropical House as “magical”. He says: “It invariably takes me by surprise when I enter a steamy glasshouse in winter and my glasses fog up. But it is rather magical to see orchids and pitcher plants in full fling, all that glossy greenery that winter has spoilt outdoors. “The National Botanic Garden of Wales has a fine tropical house, apparently vast from a distance but it’s cosy enough inside.” But Stephen’s pick – which includes the likes of Wisley, Hilliers, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and Hestercombe – saves its highest praise for the largest single-span glasshouse on the planet: “The best place to be in winter, however, is the blimp-shaped Great Glasshouse, sitting in the landscape like a shiny glass hill. It’s the be...