The Chichester Flower Festival, in the magnificent setting of the 940 year-old Cathedral, is the centrepiece of this garden tour, an opportunity to experience a host of handcrafted floral arrangements along with an exhibition of sculptures. Whether you are a keen gardener or simply appreciate the beauty of flowers, you will find something here to inspire and delight you.

Our tour begins at the garden at Hinton Ampner near Winchester, widely acknowledged as a masterpiece of 20th-century garden design. Next we visit the Sir Harold Hillier Garden & Arboretum, whose unique collection of plants makes this one of the best arboretums and nurseries in Britain, and Mottisfont Abbey, whose collection of pre-1900 old roses will be at the peak of its flowering glory. We visit Bramdean House, a lovely five-acre garden famous for its mirror-image herbaceous borders and conclude at Longstock Water Garden, whose nursery could provide you with the perfect souvenir of this colourful and fragrant short summer break.

Our tour is hosted by plant expert Julia Corden, Head Gardener at Goodwood House.