Historic Houses launches the 2026 Garden of the Year Award

The Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award 2026 has kicked off, with six beautiful gardens competing to be named the Garden of the Year in a public vote.

Last year’s winner, Arundel Castle

The Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award 2026 competition sees six beautiful gardens vying to win the prestigious prize in a public vote. The award, launched in 1984 and sponsored by Christie’s auction house, has gone from strength to strength since then, with tens of thousands of votes cast in recent years. Shortlisted entries are selected from among the hundreds of gardens that are publicly accessible member properties of Historic Houses, the association that represents and supports the UK’s independent historic homes, castles, and gardens.

This year’s shortlist features Burghley House (Lincolnshire), Coughton Court (Warwickshire), Kelmarsh Hall (Northampton), Monteviot House (Scottish Borders), Plas Cadnant (Anglesey), and Slemere House (East Yorkshire). None of the gardens have won the award before.

The public vote is open until the end of August, to allow visitors to make their choices.

Shortlisted entries are chosen from among the hundreds of gardens, parks, and grounds that offer free entry to members of Historic Houses, the association that represents and supports the UK’s independent historic homes, castles, and gardens. Details of this year’s eight finalist gardens can be found below. Voting is open now – cast your vote here.

Ben Cowell, Director General at Historic Houses, said: “Now that spring is finally here, we are thrilled to offer a truly exceptional shortlist for our annual Garden of the Year competition. Each of these six gardens is reflective of the horticultural excellence that can be seen across our member properties at Historic Houses. We look forward to seeing which emerges with the most votes by the end of a busy summer of garden tourism.”

Ursula Cholmeley, Chair of the Historic Houses Gardens Committee, said: “We are grateful to historic house members for a strong list of entries this year and the shortlist features six small and large gardens all open to the public and all worth visiting before you cast your vote. There are two awards available to the gardens that entered this year including The Judges Choice Award that represents a lifetime’s work. Both awards acknowledge the dedication that owners and gardening teams put into making historic gardens some of the best in the world.”

The six shortlisted gardens are:

• Burghley House, Lincolnshire
• Coughton Court, Warwickshire
• Kelmarsh Hall, Northamptonshire
• Monteviot House and Garden, Scottish Borders
• Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens, Anglesey
• Sledmere House, Yorkshire

Cast your vote here.