When you explore Great Britain, it's particularly rewarding to slow down and smell the roses.

Hi, I'm Rick Steves, and today we're savoring the many and varied gardens of England with a Brit who knows them well.

England's leading hobby is gardening and as you travel there it seems

the entire country is caught up in a Britain and Bloom contest. I'm not usually

one to get excited about horticulture but in Britain the gardens add a real sparkle to your travel experience.

Coming up on today's show, a tour guide friend of mine based in the South of England introduces us to an amazing variety of tourable gardens. Your English garden experience can range from high tea in the

Queen's backyard to a giant man-made ecosphere. Gardens, whether for

herbs, medicines, poisons, or bouquets, have been an important part of the British scene since medieval times.

And they remain a fascinating aspect of any Americans visit.

We're exploring English gardens in their aristocratic estates they decorate,

with Roy Nichols coming right up on today's Travel with Rick Steeves. Travel with Rick

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I'm Rick Steeves and this is Travel with Rick Steeves and we're going gardening today.

It's time to go gardening and when I think of gardening, I think of English

gardens. England loves its gardens. I think it's considered the number one hobby in the

United Kingdom. They say 40% of all English people actually consider themselves gardeners.

So I've got my friend Roy Nichols on the line.

He takes tours of gardens in England.

Sharing his passion for England with me for years and Roy thanks for joining us.

It's a pleasure Rick.

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