'Hidden' Welsh gardens ranked among the world's best

Wales has had two of its gardens named among the very best in the world. InsureandGo have drawn up a list of the 15 best botanical gardens in the world, using several factors in each country.

These included the number of recorded plant species, the number of botanical gardens per square mile, how many photos of flowers and plants had been posted on Instagram, and Google search demand for gardens across the country, before combining them to give each country a "botanical bliss" score.

The reviews of over 100 botanical gardens worldwide were then analysed, with researchers ranking them according to which ones have the highest percentage of four and five star reviews. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.

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North Wales had two sites in the top ten, North Wales Live reported. They didn't quite get the top spot which went to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Arizona, which is home to over 3,200 different plant species as well as lush gardens nestled in the middle of the arid landscape of the Sonoran Desert.

But following closely behind with 97.5% of their reviews sitting above four stars, was Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens near Menai Bridge on Anglesey. The gardens have a series of grottos, follies, dark tunnels and no fewer than four waterfalls. There’s a walled garden, a “jungle” and an avenue of yew pyramids. For views, there are belvederes from which to admire wild woodlands and, in the distance, the rising peaks of Eryri (Snowdonia).

The other site on the list is Bodnant Gardens in the Conwy Valley - which came in sixth. Established in 1874 by scientist, businessman and politician Henry Pochin, he and his family filled the garden with plants collected by famous global explorers such as Ernest Wilson, George Forrest and Harold Comber. It is now run by the National Trust, and it welcomes visitors all year-round. Alongside towering trees and an awe-inspiring array of flowers, every spring, a mesmerising Laburnum arch blooms within the botanic garden, enabling visitors to be enchanted under a ceiling of dangling flowers. Try WalesOnline Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features.