Wentworth Castle gardens come to life with rare rhododendrons and birdsong

To gardening teams, as their work comes to fruition, it i s worth the wait as the blossoms unfurl.

As May turns to June, the garden's avenues are lit up in cheerful shades from purple to white – and there are just a few weeks to catch a glimpse of their splendour.

Wentworth Castle Gardens, with a fascinating founder, is built on a tale of bitter feuds, revenge fuelled by fire and hopes of overshadowing history.

It dates back to the Wentworth family, one Yorkshire's most prominent names, who held the imposing estate of Wentworth Woodhouse as their home.

When the 2nd Earl died childless in 1695, his nephew Thomas Wentworth, had expected to inherit. When the fortune passed instead to his cousin, Thomas Watson, he plotted revenge.

Just six miles away he bought this “small estate ' , as it was then, creating a castle to upstage his cousin, intent on making it bigger and better than his most bitter rivals.

Today, Wentworth Castle Gardens is the only Grade 1 listed parkland and gardens in South Yorkshire, home to some 26 listed buildings and monuments. While owned by Barnsley Council, the National Trust holds a 25-year lease for its care and the two work in partnership with Northern College.

Back in the 18th century, it was at the forefront of garden and landscape design, gardening teams have said.

It still has many original features from the time of its creation, including the castle itself, with each of its four towers said to be named after one of the founder’s children.

It was very fashionable in the Victorian era to collect plants from all over the world to display in formal gardens and the first written record of rhododendrons at Wentworth Castle gardens dates back to the 1870s.

Ever since, each subsequent owner or head gardener has added to the collection and now there is a huge variety of evergreen shrubs, mainly hardy hybrids because of the weather.

Propagating can take some time and the rhododendrons are best grown from seed which can take 10 or even 20 years to come into flower.

And while from a distance they may look similar, in close-up each flower is individual.

One gardener said: "The gardens feel even more alive at this time of year because the flowers are buzzing with insects.

"The birds are even happier, because there's lots of insects for them to eat. The blooms are just so cheerful."