Melbourne Hall, UK

Refined sophistication – that’s how I would sum up the gardens at Melbourne Hall. This is a historic gem of a garden that keeps the best elements from 300 years ago while moving with the times to create a fresh and inviting atmosphere, the very opposite of a stale and stuffy period piece. For a photographer, it certainly ticks all the boxes - shapes, forms, patterns, textures, lines, contrast, tones, light and colour. And as a bonus, there’s water, plenty of it, in varying forms – from fountains to ponds large and small, and a stream. Melbourne Hall Gardens’ structural and geometric planting combined with sculpture and ironwork make this a garden that rewards a keen eye while being an absolute joy to photograph.