U.K. and Ireland - London Gardens...Spring Timing

Mrs. jacknyoc wants to accompany me on a trip to London I'm planning for sometime next spring (yes, next spring). She really wants to see the gardens in bloom. We have a little flexibility on timing for the trip, but not much...it'll have to be sometime mid-March through mid-April. Is the last part of March too early for the gardens...or is the first part of April that much better? I'm not really sure about the timing for the gardens generally...obviously some of it depends on weather, I presume...and I've done some research but without much success.

Thank you very much for your assistance.

It's mostly weather dependent so it's pot luck as to when things will be in bloom

If you could move your trip a couple of months, you could plan your visit around the annual Open Garden Squares weekend:

http://www.opensquares.org/

Also, many places do not open until after April 1st...my sister visited in March and was not able to see some gardens she wanted to visit because of timing...

Thank you, all, for your help.

I realize the difficulty in predicting the uncertainties of the wather....we all can probably do as well as some of the TV professionals, though.

Unfortunately, I cannot push the timing back to June, as interesting as the event looks. However, I can plan this for mid-April so the parks/gardens will at least be open by then. All very helpful information.

Thank you.

It depends what you want to see.

This page provides a good idea according to your preferences:

http://www.kew.org/visit-kew-gardens/whats-on/spring-2012/bulb-map/index.htm

There are precious few gardens closed in March, it is in fact a very good time for viewing spring flowers and so it would be odd for them to be closed. However what you will find is that British Summer Time gives you an extra hour of daylight from the end of March, and many places operate longer opening hours from April 1st, often as much as two hours more, with some places operating winter hours closing as early as 4pm from October right through March (when it can be bright and sunny till after 6pm), whereas you will usually find them open till 6pm or later from April onwards.

Daffodils are probably the spring bulb, and you can see them, e.g., in St James Park typically from mid March to early April, varying slightly according to the winter/spring's weather.

Mid April is pushing it for gardens in "full bloom" .

If you are willing to go out of London, Cornwall will be in advance of the home counties, and Magnolias, Camillias, bulbs will be out. In London, in my experience, it will be bulbs(ie daffodils, smaller species, a bit too early for tulips. Kew will be good, and you might check the RHS show calander, as they have a Spring show, which is very good, in March.
Also look at the Nat'l Trust site: any of their gardens will be superb. There are some country house hotels around London famous for their Gardens: ie Gravetye Manor, Le Manoir de Quatre Saisons...

One other thought: the water meadows of Oxford University are FAMOUS for their fritillary fields: 500 years old. They are in bloom in March. They are worth a journey in themselves.