Welcome to TOD tours, the niche garden tours company run by world renowned rosarian, Michael Marriott, and horticultural journalist/garden designer, Rosie Irving, started in 2021.
We are delighted to announce our TOD tours for 2026 with more being added soon, so do please keep checking back here, and our instagram account, @todgardentours , from time to time for updates.
Contact: todgardentours@gmail.com to book a place or for any enquiries
Instagram: @todgardentours
Here is a list of the tours we’re leading next year. For full details scroll down.
Oxfordshire.
Rousham and Green and Gorgeous 8th June. £150
East Sussex.
Private Garden and Orchard Cottage. 9th June. £140.
Kent
Drewland, Pheasant Barn and Old Bladbean Stud. 12th June. £140. Sold out.
West Sussex
Knepp Estate and Private Garden. 15th June. £140. 3 places left
Somerset One
Hanham Court and Caisson Garden. 24th June. £150. Sold out.
Somerset Two
Special Plants and Hillside. 25th June. £175. Sold out.
Welsh Borders
Allt- y-bela, Llanover Garden and New Inn Farm. 9th July. £150. 4 places left.
Dieppe, France
Le Jardin Agapanthe, Jardin Le Vasterival, Jardin Shamrock, Le Jardin Plume and Jardins d’Angelique 16/17th July. £350. Sold out
OXFORDSHIRE
8th June 2026
£150
Join us on a tour that contrasts stepping back in time with cutting edge floral design.
We are repeating this very popular tour in 2026, but a little earlier in the year, when the planting within the walled garden at Rousham should be at its best. You may have heard about the possible development of the field opposite this beautiful garden into a huge housing estate and so this may be a last chance to experience its peaceful sense of place before the iconic view out across the main lawn is displaced by the sound and sight of diggers.
Please note there is approximately a 45 minute drive between the two gardens but we feel what awaits us is definitely worth it!
First stop…
Rousham
A personal favourite of many great garden designers, (and ourselves), Rousham is one of England’s most important, historic gardens, completely un spoilt, and, as a result, utterly captivating in atmosphere. Designed by William Kent in the late 1730’s, Rousham retains many of its original features, including a stunning rill, gently winding its way through woodland, and is a rare example of eighteenth century English landscape design. The garden tour also takes in the magnificent walled garden containing long mixed flower borders, filled with historic roses and ancient espaliered apple trees, as well as a delightful dovecote.
Second stop…
Green and Gorgeous
If you want to see cut flower growing and arranging at its best then this visit won’t disappoint. Started in 2008, Rachel and Ashley have created a magical cut flower farm on their five acre site, using a sustainable, growing approach, to enable them to work in harmony with the seasons and wildlife.
Rachel and Ashley will guide us round the farm, sharing tips on how to cultivate some of their favourite flower varieties for cut flower production. This will be followed by sampling Rachel’s delicious, home-baked cakes whilst watching her demonstrating how she creates one of her ‘garden to vase’ arrangements. Oh, and there will also be cut flowers and plants for sale!
EAST SUSSEX
9th June 2026
£140
NEW TOUR!
On this tour we embark on a celebration of the romance of the traditional country garden, visiting two private gardens where one takes advantage of outstanding distant views and the other nestles into its immediate surroundings.
First stop…
Private Garden
We are delighted to be able to offer you this rare and privileged opportunity to visit this beautiful, large, completely private, country garden, as access to it is only given to a select few tours.
We will be guided round the garden by talented garden designer Head Gardener, Edward Flint, who also tutors at Great Dixter and the English Gardening School. Edward spent lengthy spells living and working at Great Dixter under the informal tutelage of the late, great Christopher Lloyd and the past twenty three years co-creating this garden with its owner. Full of Arts and Crafts resonances with contemporary twists, you will discover the delights of extensive floral borders, where roses mingle with annuals and perennials, set within a framework of hedges, as well as meadows jostling with stunning, expansive views and woodlands, the latter creating intimacy as well as shade.
© Nicky Flint
© Nicky Flint
© Nicky Flint
Second stop…
Orchard Cottage
We move on to what has been delightfully described by respected garden journalist, Paula McWaters, as ‘a charming froth of a garden…’
Jane, its equally charming, plantaholic, owner and creator, with a great eye for colour combinations, will be on hand to greet us on arrival to explain how she and her husband created this one and a half acre, beautifully informal, romantic country garden over a period of forty years. Gardened organically, It is now a place of extreme beauty, and, as you enter the garden, you are likely to be greeted with informally planted, colour themed beds containing a profusion of roses, hardy geraniums, foxgloves and numerous other flowering, scrambling climbers and self seeders. Moving beyond the flower borders we’ll discover a raised beds kitchen garden area leading onto a delightful woodland meadow and deep pond all designed to encourage greater wildlife diversity. When Rosie visited, Jane gently parted Crinodendron branches on the woodland meadow edge to reveal a beautifully constructed dormouse nest.
KENT
12th June 2026
£140
NEW TOUR!
SOLD OUT!
We will be introducing you to three, very different, private gardens
First stop…
Drewland
The atmospheric, densely planted, spectacular garden of Andrew Salter completely encircles his ‘humble’ home – a small, black painted, former barn, – and has been shown on BBC Gardeners’ World and Channel 4’s Garden of the Year, as well as the front cover of Gardens Illustrated magazine and features in prestigious books such as ‘Pastoral Gardens’ and Phaidon’s ‘The Contemporary Garden’. Surrounded by a wildflower meadow, Andrew works his garden alone, happily and intensively, regularly editing and expanding upon his designs, and will be our guide on the day.
Second stop…
Pheasant Barn
A series of differently themed, nectar-rich, wildlife-friendly, gardens surround award-winning converted farm buildings in a beautiful location overlooking Oare Creek where you will be able to gaze out over the water as you enjoy your packed lunch at the end of the tour.
Third stop…
Old Bladbean Stud Garden
Voted The Nation’s Favourite Garden in the South East by readers of The English Garden magazine in 2023, Carol will guide us round her three acre garden of ‘otherwordly beauty’ designed with a ‘nature first’ philosophy outlining the innovative maintenance methods she uses to create an ornamental ecosystem. Following the Beth Chatto mantra of no watering, pesticides or added organic matter or fertilizers, Carol will explain how she combines innovation, sustainability and artistry in her planting schemes as she leads us round the garden. Signed copies of her book ‘In Nature’s Slipstream’ due to be published in spring 2026 will be available to buy along with plants and seeds collected from the garden. We end the day with a delicious cream tea.
WEST SUSSEX
15th June 2026
£140
Only 3 places left!
A double delight awaits on this special tour. Privileged access to a privately owned, beautiful, 9 acre garden in the morning contrasts with the cutting edge, experimental design in the walled garden on the Knepp estate in the afternoon, and with the Head Gardener of each garden accompanying us around each of their gardens.
First stop…
Knepp Estate
The excited buzz around Knepp Estate’s 1.5 acre walled garden re-design experiment (in which Professor James Hitchmough and Tom Stuart Smith were engaged to naturalistically redesign the walled areas) is hugely well deserved.
Our bespoke, two and a half hour tour with the Head Gardener, Charlie Harpur, makes this a truly, informative, exciting and memorable visit as he explains how, in 2022, the walled garden’s highly manicured, croquet lawn was replaced with over 800 different types of plants and varying soil types, creating a treasure trove of micro-habitats for a wide variety of insects and birds, as well as a very beautiful garden. BBC Gardeners’ World TV Presenter, Arit Anderson, was filmed here looking at how rewilding can be successfully applied to smaller, garden spaces without sacrificing beauty.
The planting ethos and design is highly relevant to today’s changing climate and sustainability issues and the garden is now fulsome and maturing beautifully and dynamically.
Second stop…
Private Garden
The special atmosphere engendered by this sensitively managed, delightfully secluded garden is apparent from the moment of arrival. Head Gardener, Ben Pope, has spent the past 17 years creating this beautiful hidden gem with its various ornamental borders, topiary and water features. At the heart of this garden is a glorious, productive, 1.5 acre walled garden full of cut flowers, fruit and vegetables. Afternoon tea with delicious home-made cakes will be served at the end of the visit.
SOMERSET ONE
New Garden
24th June 2026
£150
Please email us if you’d be interested in joining us as we’re exploring the possibility of running a second tour on 23rd June
SOLD OUT!
On this tour we will be visiting two extremely beautiful private gardens, both full of atmosphere, stunning features and plant combinations.
First stop…
Hanham Court
Enter the garden through a beautiful 15th century arched doorway to find yourself in a garden of undeniable beauty. Interwoven paths lead to a myriad of richly planted, tumbling borders, viewpoints and hidden areas with pools, streams, wildflower meadows and an orchard. Originally created by the hugely talented husband and wife design duo, Isabel and Julian Bannerman, and now wonderfully cared for by Julia and Richard Boissevain, the emphasis is on scent, structure and romance, set amid a remarkable cluster of manorial buildings.
Julia will lead us round the gardens at the end of which there will be the opportunity of eating your packed lunch in the beautiful grounds before moving on to the second garden on the tour.
Second stop…
Caisson Gardens
The gardens at Caisson have been beautifully restored and nurtured by owners Phil and Amanda Honey over the past 15 years, where they have combined their mutual desire to be closer to nature with their love of art and design. Amanda’s redesign of Caisson was greatly influenced by her passionate belief in organic, regenerative gardening and soil health.
During the two hour private visit, Phil and Amanda will provide a welcoming introductory talk, which will include their future vision for Caisson and will remain on hand to answer any of your questions. As Phil says, ‘we want Caisson Gardens to be a magical, inspirational and fun place that enriches people’s lives and feeds their souls’. In our opinion they have definitely succeeded!
The day ends with tea, coffee, elderflower cordial and a selection of delicious homemade cake, including their legendary moss cake!
SOMERSET TWO
25th June 2026
£175
NEW TOUR!
SOLD OUT!
Please email us if you would like to go onto the waiting list.
Be quick as this tour is bound to sell out fast. A rare and privileged opportunity to be guided round the 20 acre garden of acclaimed garden designer, Dan Pearson, combined with a visit to, and guided tour of, renowned plantswoman Derry Watkins, and her Architect husband’s garden and plant nursery.
First stop…
Special Plants Nursery and Garden
Legendary plantswoman, Derry Watkins, (who has introduced many new plants from her South African plant collecting trips), will take us round her three quarters of an acre hillside garden with its stunning views, explaining how it was designed and laid out by her architect husband and filled with her wonderful array of plants. The tour will end in her nursery with the opportunity to buy rare and unusual plants.
Second stop…
Hillside
World renowned garden designer and plantsman, Dan Pearson will introduce us to, and guide us round, his own garden, located in a small valley near Bath, that he has been sensitively and experimentally managing since 2010 with the main aims of achieving enhanced biodiversity and increased native flora whilst retaining that all important sense of place and dialogue with the landscape. We will also be shown the experimental sand garden in which drought tolerant plants are being grown. The visit will end with tea and cakes and the privileged opportunity to wander freely around the garden until time to leave.
Picture credit Huw Morgan
Picture credit Huw Morgan
Picture credit Huw Morgan
WELSH BORDERS
9th July 2026
Two New Gardens
£150
Only 4 places left!
Join us as we explore three very different private gardens in south-east Wales, each one lovingly created and/or expanded upon by their current owners, and all three cleverly, individually, maximising the superb views of the wider countryside. This year we’ll be introducing you to two gardens new to this tour, as well as re-visiting the ever-popular Allt-y-bela, home of celebrated international garden designer, Arne Maynard.
First stop…
Allt-y-bela
Another privileged opportunity to visit the very beautiful private garden of RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winner and international garden designer Arne Maynard. The beautifully maintained garden can be found nestled in a secret Welsh valley and wrapped around a stunning late medieval farmhouse. It combines formal topiary and pleached malus trees with soft native planting, all blending seamlessly into the wider rural landscape of fields containing a mix of orchids and other wildflowers.
Second stop…
Llanover Garden
Elizabeth and Ross Murray moved into Elizabeth’s parents’ home in the late 1990’s, becoming the seventh generation of her family to live there. Described by award winning photographer, Clive Nichols, as his ‘favourite UK garden’, Elizabeth will guide us round her glorious 15 acre garden, arboretum and serene parkland, admiring, as we do so, the stunning series of ponds, cascades and rills created by her ancestor, Benjamin Waddington, in the late 1700’s, before moving on to the third garden on the tour.
Third stop…
New Inn Farm
A wonderful opportunity to be guided around the atmospheric acre garden of Stephen Anderton, The Times garden journalist and three-time winner of the Garden Writer’s Guild award. The enclosed flower garden has been planted with a lush mixture of modern and traditional perennials, interspersed with clipped evergreens; specialities include ferns, succulents and South African plants. Behind the house simple green terraces retained by sculpted hedges offer distant valley and mountain views. A scented garden of shrubs, bulbs and meadow grass adjoins a small orchard and in the river valley below can be found a steep 15 acre oak woodland, maintained exclusively for its carpet of mosses.
DIEPPE, FRANCE
2 DAY TOUR – 16/17th July 2026
NEW TOUR!
£350
SOLD OUT! So please contact us via Todgardentours@gmail.com to add your name and number of places required to our waiting list.
Price based on a minimum of 10 people signing up – if 15 people sign up we will refund you £50 per person (hopefully an incentive for you to encourage others to join us!)
If you’re aged 60 or over and travelling by ferry from Newhaven you should be entitled to a 20% discount but you will need to telephone the ferry company, (DFDS), to get the discount plus the earlier you book the cheaper the fare.
Day 1
First stop…
Le Jardin Agapanthe
On the first stop of this tour we’ll be introducing you to, not one, but two, very different, beautiful gardens, both created by experimental landscape architect, Alexandre Thomas, who will guide us round the gardens, explaining his approach to garden design. Don’t let the garden title fool you; yes there are agapanthus, but the focus in the first garden is on an ever changing palette of plants and colours, with green the predominant, calming colour. No lawn here! The planting is so dense and beautiful that you really need to walk round it twice to fully appreciate it all. The second garden has a totally different feel to it. Twenty years ago Alexandre bought the property across the road and took that opportunity to create a completely different style of garden. Reached by exiting the first garden area through a pair of handsome, antique, wrought iron gates and crossing the lane, this second garden is designed with a predominantly Mediterranean feel and, as a result, is less densely planted than the first. Numerous carefully placed chairs and benches will give you the opportunity to sit and reflect, whilst also admiring the many beautiful giant urns and pots carefully placed throughout both gardens.
Second stop…
Jardin Le Vasterival
Princess Greta Sturdza transformed this 30 acre, wild thicket site over a period of 50 years into a magical, organically gardened oasis where plant shapes, colours and scents blend seamlessly with each other to create a marvellously cohesive, restful space. Today it retains her ethos, gardened with the utmost sensitivity to nature, and has been an inspiration to many renowned garden designers around the world.
Third stop and final stop of the day…
Jardin Shamrock
Shamrock boasts the largest collection of hydrangeas in the world which, at the time of our visit, should be looking their absolute best. The garden is divided into three main areas; the densely wooded Bois du Dragon, showcasing shade loving Asian species; Jardin Celeste, where the more sun tolerant hydrangeas can be seen, and finally an area where the various beds are devoted to a breeder, country or region of the world. A must have visit for anyone with more than a passing interest in hydrangeas! We will be given a guided tour and there will be plenty of time to ask questions as well as admire the many different species and cultivars.
Supper at Le Turbot
There will be the opportunity to join us for an informal supper at this renowned fish restaurant situated alongside Dieppe harbour; just let us know when booking if you’d like to be included.
Day 2
First stop…
Le Jardin Plume
A superbly graphic, seven acre garden that, unusually for a well-designed garden, reveals most of itself upon first glance, but which then draws you effortlessly round it, enabling you to discover more than you thought you’d seen on first glance. Rosie is entranced by it whenever we visit.
Created by self-taught gardeners, Sylvie and Patrick Quibel, from the remains of a very flat orchard, there are now huge grid-like expanses of ornamental grasses, (from which the garden takes its name), totally in proportion to the other areas of the garden, interspersed with some of the original orchard trees, along with perennial plant borders and a large, square, reflective pool, much appreciated by Michael! At the time of our visit the perennials should be in full bloom and Sylvie and Patrick will be giving us an introductory talk as well as guiding us round the various parts of the garden.
Jardins d’Angélique
As the name suggests, there are two gardens here, distinctly different with contrasting styles; one at the front and the other at the rear of the handsome 17th century manor. Both gardens are enchanting, as is Gloria, the owner, who is clearly extremely passionate about plants. The gardens are dedicated to, and made in remembrance of, her daughter, Angelique, and, to us, that feeling is most apparent in the garden at the front of the house, which has a loose, soft, gentle feel to the planting and an informal layout. The garden at the rear is perfectly in keeping with the style of the house with clipped topiary and frothy perennial flower borders enclosed by low, evergreen box hedges.
Chateau Martainville Optional Extra
As this Chateau is so close to the two gardens we’re visiting today we thought we should add it as a optional extra. The traditional parterre associated with grand Chateaus has been updated and filled with, mainly, Miscanthus sp. grasses which, although in July, is a little too early to see them making spectacular impact, the 15th century chateau interior and its contents more than make up for this and, are, quite simply, superb. Home to the museum of ‘Norman Traditions and Arts’, every room on every floor is set dressed with top quality items from between the 15th and 19th centuries – more than 15,000 in total – and English spoken handsets are available to impart fascinating information and stories about many of the items on display.
If you’re aged 60 or over and travelling by ferry from Newhaven you should be entitled to a 20% discount but you will need to telephone the ferry company, (DFDS), to get the discount plus the earlier you book the cheaper the fare.
TOD GARDEN TOURS
TOD Garden Tours is the brainchild of Rosie Irving and her partner Michael Marriott, dreamt up on a gloomy, grey December morning. Our small, friendly group tours, (usually no more than 16) provide access to, and guide you around, a lovely selection of superb private and public gardens in the U.K. and this year France, carefully selected for their striking, structural, colourful garden design and/or super abundance of gorgeous roses.
EACH TOUR IS PRICED SEPARATELY AND, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, INCLUDES GARDEN ENTRY FEES & AFTERNOON TEA AND CAKE
The joy of these tours is that you get the benefit of not one but two experienced horticulturists; one a world-renowned rose expert and life-long gardener; the other a colour loving, garden design trained horticulturist and Horticultural Producer for many UK TV garden programmes. There’s a glorious, bantering interaction between the two which not only makes the tours unique but also rather special and lots of fun!
The tours are mainly single day events, visiting two, sometimes three gardens, each starting with an introductory talk from the garden owner or head gardener. Numbers are limited to a maximum of 16 to enable you to obtain the maximum benefit from Rosie and Michael’s bantering expertise.
The tours are designed for you to travel to each of the locations, (and in between each garden), independently. For those of you wishing to travel the night before, or extend your visit, lists of a range of accommodation local to the tour gardens can be supplied, as suggested by the various garden owners.
Oh, and if you’re wondering what TOD stands for, it’s Two Old Duffers!
ABOUT US
Rosie and Michael both have degrees related to horticulture. Rosie is extremely proud of her *1st (don’t ask her what that means!). Michael can hardly remember anything about his!
© Arit Anderson
Rosie trained in Garden and Planting Design at Capel Manor College and, after gaining her degree in horticulture, taught Plants and Planting Design at Kingston Maurward College. Her co-designed Hepworth exhibit was proudly displayed on Tate Britain’s front lawn during the summer of 2015. She loves nothing better than to put together great colour combinations in the garden and has a delightful approach to the subject. For the past 14 years she has worked in the TV industry on numerous gardening programmes and has gained a reputation as the ‘go to’ person for consultancy within the industry.
Instagram @rosieposieirving
Email rosieirving@me.com
Michael brings to the party 35 years as head rosarian at David Austin Roses & is now widely recognised as a world expert on the subject. He has designed thousands of rose gardens of varying sizes worldwide including some of the gardens we’ll be visiting on these tours. He has also leads garden tours and lectures extensively around the world. He has a refreshing approach to the subject and is always happy to answer questions. Author of RHS Roses. In 2022 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Garden Media Guild and in 2023 the Dean Hole medal for services to the rose. He is chairman of the Historic Roses Group (www.historicroses.org @historic_roses_group) and a vice president of Plant Heritage (https://www.plantheritage.org.uk/ @plantheritage).
Instagram @michaelrosarian
email michaelrosarian@gmail.com
We both love to garden and their combined knowledge and legendary light hearted differences of opinion mean that these tours should be full of fun as well as gardening & garden design related advice.
Michael Marriott 