Spring has sprung, and at the beautiful National Trust properties, the gardeners are anxious to show off the fruits of a long winter of hard work. Mervyn Hancock visits the Courts at Holt, near Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire

W hile many people flock to the better known properties and estates managed by the National Trust, others look for the more unusual and less publicised places to take the family on a day out – one of those is the Courts, near the quaint and historic Wiltshire town of Bradford-on-Avon.

The Trust describes the magnificently laid out borders, peaceful water gardens and topiary as one of England's best kept secrets, and spring and early summer are the best times to see it.

One of its mysteries is how, and why, flagstones were transported from the local jail in Devizes, to create pathways through the site – you will be walking on the very stones on which felons trod en route to the gallows if you visit.

From another era, the garden still retains the pillars that were used for the drying of animal skins, which would have been washed in nearby ponds, and coloured by dyes taken from plants growing in the grounds. A visitor's favourite is the Mexican red-ink plant, which produces a dark crimson dye – a reminder of that industrial past which can be seen throughout the garden.

An ancient Saxon town, Bradford- on-Avon owes much of its modern-day charm to its long and prosperous association with the wool trade.

Not only did the workers in the town produce cloth for local merchants, but they also wove intricate and colourful designs which were sent all over the country.

Two loving and careful owners, Colonel Sir George Hastings and Lady Cecile Goff, were responsible for forming and creating the present-day gardens.

Lady Goff continued to take a great personal interest in the garden from the time she handed it into Trust care until she died in 1991 – lavishing a lifetime of love and dedication to the property. The Courts has a variety of different garden areas, an assortment of topiary and hedges, garden ornaments, some fine trees and a wonderful lily pond.

The garden is enclosed on three sides by a curtain of trees cutting off outside views.

Look out for the black form of cow parsley, anthriscus sylvestris Ravenswing, with its dark lacy foliage and white flowers. It makes an ideal companion for the Black Hero tulips and the white froth of Tellina grandiflora.

The recently restored kitchen garden is full of apple blossom in May. Children will enjoy the wildlife display which explains all about the hidden creatures which live at the Courts, from amphibians to moths.

The Courts is a place where a series of gardeners have been able to introduce their own ideas for 150 years or so. One of the most famous of these was Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) who was probably the most respected gardener of her time, and who influenced both Lady Goff and Colonel Hastings.

That influence on the Courts design can be seen in the use of water-loving plants, which flourish around a small lake, and the bed of floribunda roses hedged by clipped yew trees setting off a rectangular lily pond.

Gertrude designed about 400 gardens (three of which were for clients in the United States) but, because so few survive and only handfuls are accurately restored, it is by her books and articles that she is best remembered.

Her brother Walter was a friend of the author Robert Louis Stevenson; his name may have been borrowed for the title of his famous Jekyll and Hyde story.

The Courts Garden, Holt, near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire BA14 6RR. Tel: 01225 782875; email: courtsgarden@nationaltrust.org.uk