DAY 1

From a rectory garden to a shoreline walk finishing in picturesque Marstrand, at a peaceful oasis away from the crowds
 

Bergfeltska trädgården, Västra Gatan 8, 442 31 Kungälv
Strandparken, Strandgatan, 442 31 Kungälv
Sinnenas trädgård, Hospitalsgatan 8, 442 67 Marstrand, Sverige

 This garden journey begins in a rectory garden located in Kungälv's idyllic old wooden town, more precisely on Västra gatan street. We’re here to see the Bergfeltska Garden. The garden climbs Fontinberget in terraces and from the top of the hill the view is fantastic. We see Kungälv, the Nordre Älv river and Bohus Fortress with the garden below. The reward is well worth the small effort it takes to get up the stone steps.  The garden has, among other things, a peony border, a shade lovers corner, a fruit terrace and a pretty rockery.

^{Terraces in the Bergfeltska Garden.}
From here there’s a short walk to the next garden, Strandparken, also in Kungälv. This shoreline park is in fact a trail exploring the remains of former villa gardens. We see fruit trees, stone quays and garden plants testifying to an earlier garden history. The perennials are fantastic, with about 70 different kinds of flowers and narcissi and scillas in the thousands. Pollinators also thrive along the water's edge. There are three beehives to look at. We walk among the brightly coloured flowers, buzzing bumblebees, fountains and sculptures. When our legs start to feel tired there are both nice park benches and tempting sun chairs at our disposal. Reclining here in the sun and drinking our coffee feels great.

^{Blooming perennials in Strandparken}

What is a day on the west coast without a ferry ride? When Leaving Kungälv, we drive to Koön, park the car and get on board the ferry to Marstrand. The boat trip takes just a few minutes and soon we are standing on the popular quay and enjoying the hustle and bustle of this busy seaside town. Wherever we look we see little shops, cafes, restaurants and cobbled streets, and towering above them sits Marstrand's mighty fortress. However, we have come here to find peace and we do it in Sinnenas trädgård, A Garden for the Senses. We enter through the opening in the fence and suddenly the noise from all the people feels distant. It’s quiet here and birdsong is the sound that we hear most. The herb garden smells lovely, and the gentle babbling of the waterfalls and fountain creates a feeling of well-being. We sit on the kissing bench around the beech tree and get out our lunch bags. Happy and satisfied, we start thinking about Lasse-Maja, the thief whose story is closely linked to Marstrand. While we’re here, we decide to walk up to the fortress. We want to see where Lasse-Maja was when he cooked such good food that the then king  pardoned him. Our second garden day comes to an end here on the island. For accommodation, see vastsverige.com.
 

Imposing trees in the borders of A Garden for the Senses
 

DAY 2

Our day includes a lovely manor full of things to experience and a classic farmhouse garden, both on the island of Tjörn

Sundsby Säteri, Sundsbyvägen 387, 471 72 Hjälteby
Bartley Garden, Hallarevägen 2, 472 98 Lilla Askerön
 

Sundsby Säteri is our first stop of the day. Sundsby is a historic manor and park dating back to the 16th century. We’re met by a large estate with magnificent lawns, flower beds, meadows and a well maintained vegetable garden. We’re greatly impressed by the seashell garden paths. The old head gardener's house is still around for us to admire from the outside. In addition to the garden itself, there are lots of other things to experience. Craftwork is cherished here and in the many outbuildings we get to see everything from jewellery design to delicious delicacies. The beautiful pond is over 550 metres long and the wildlife makes itself known when a toad croaks for our attention. We’re feeling hungry now and luckily we see a sign showing that we’re close to Margareta's Café, which serves everything from lunch and dinner to tasty fika. Before we leave Sundsby Säteri, we study the busy honey bees in the display hive. It looks good for the upcoming extraction!

Kitchen Garden at Sundsby Säteri.
 

Because we’re curious about how a garden comes into being we’ve booked a visit to Bartley Garden. By the sea on the island of Lilla Askerön lies this classic farm garden, where the owners are both gardeners and garden designers. We have a look at the newly laid kitchen garden with its orangery and vegetable beds, and are fascinated by the dramatic rock face that rises up along the west side of the garden. The owners have started to work on a forest garden there. We take in everything these master gardeners have achieved, with both talent and taste, with real interest.  Pretty Hedemora hens, wandering freely in the garden, accompany us on our visit. We finish with a look in at the farm shop, where the range has us eagerly scanning the shelves. It’s amazing how much you suddenly want and need!

We’ve had a great day on Tjörn and now we’re looking forward to an evening dip in the salty sea. For accommodation ideas see vastsverige.com.

Welcome to Bartley Garden!

DAY 3

We start the day on Orust at a garden centre, then move on to a bee paradise, before ending the day and our journey out on the island of Lyrön.
 

Morlanda Handelsträdgård, Morlanda By Korehogen 110, 474 93 Ellös
Tavlebord Honungsgård, Tavlebord 124, 473 97 Henån
D'Arcys trädgård, Lyr-Äng 750 474 96 Nösund

 It’s a short car journey from Tjörn to Orust and we soon arrive at Morlanda Handelsträdgård. We’re met by a well laid out garden centre with a really inspiring selection. The choice of both plants and garden accessories exude quality. Being able to buy local produce gives our purchases an extra pleasurable dimension. We’ve heard about the pelargonium exhibition here and it doesn’t disappoint us. So many rare variants of this fantastic flower. With full bags in our hands we head happily back to the car and drive on, with a paradise for bees in our sights.

It’s just ten kilometres to Tavlebords Honungsgård honey farm, so we’re there in ten minutes. It really is true that it’s all about the bees here. There’s a fantastic bee garden, a bee exhibition, show hive, an opportunity for us to test our knowledge in a bee quiz and a farm shop with every kind of bee product you could think of, like honey, beeswax candles and honey sweets, just to name a selection of the wide range. We walk around the bee friendly plants and memorise several names. The smell of freshly brewed coffee tempts us so we head to the cosy cafe. Before we leave we have to see the popular accommodation offered here, a building shaped like a beehive! Imagine staying there and maybe feeling like a useful worker bee, a drone, or why not the queen! We let our imagination go wild and have a good laugh. The accommodation can be booked via booking.com.

A 10 minute car ride takes us to Lyresten  on the island of Orust, and from there we take the ferry out to Lyrön, where we’re hoping to find a well-hidden little gem, which is D'Arcy's Garden. When we pre-booked our visit, we were thankfully given detailed directions that make it easy for us to find the place. After about 1.5 kilometres we arrive. This is an inspiring garden with reuse at its heart. Among the fragrant roses, fruit trees and water lilies, we see several examples of clever re-cycling. Take the garden bench, for example. It’s made from three bed bases among other things! We walk round among the lilies, lavender, hollyhocks, dahlias and just enjoy being there. We eat the fika we brought with us on the surrounding granite rocks. The garden is in a warm but exposed spot and it’s clear that the owners have had to take that into consideration when choosing planting sites. Before we leave Dárcys, we buy honey that comes from Lyr. It feels exclusive to have been here, as the size of the garden means it’s most suitable for one party at a time.

^{View of D'Arcys Garden on Lyrön}