Goodbye to the gnome

Then there’s the Himalayan Garden & Sculpture Park, near Ripon, where, as the name suggests, sculpture is just as important as the plants.

The latest piece of in-your-eye art is Wave – a 15-metre floating installation by Rebecca Newnham. The sculpture sits in one of the lakes at the 20-acre garden.

“We trial floated the sculpture in a swimming pool and also in the sea at Dorset, and got a positive reaction from onlookers, said Rebecca. “People have given it names such as Red Ribbon and Nessie, which is great. Art should be enjoyed at many levels and when an exhibit gets its own nickname, then you know it’s having an impact.”

Wave is made from sections of red fibreglass and is weighted to ensure it floats at the desired height. The sections are chained together and anchored either end which allows the wind to draw the sculpture into different curves.

And it’s not alone; another new features is a Chinese pagoda, made in Bali, from an authentic old Chinese design, and a thatched summer house.

Peter Roberts, the owner and founder of the gardens, said: “Wave is certainly the most challenging exhibit we have installed and brings another powerful visual element to the gardens.”

The award-winning gardens, which attract some 10,000 visitors every year, have the North’s largest collection of rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias.

There are nearly 20,000 plants, including some 1,400 rhododendron varieties – of which 70 different species are on the current international Red List of plants threatened with extinction – along with 250 azalea varieties and 150 different magnolias. Many have been grown from seed collected by modern-day plant hunters in China, Nepal, India, Burma, Bhutan and Tibet.

The gardens, at The Hutts, Grewelthorpe, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 3DA, are open daily (closed Mondays except Bank Holidays) from 10am-4pm, until June 16. ww.himalayangarden.com