We start the day at Allt-y-Bela in Llangym, Monmouthshire, to see the work of designer Arne Maynard on his home patch. Here, the garden wraps tightly around the medieval renaissance tower house and although it displays elements found in most of his distinctive designs – espaliered fruit trees, roses, vegetables, wildflowers and topiary – here, with the unpredictable terrain of the Welsh Borders, we find fascinating balanced and yet unsymmetrical garden. We then go to Llanover House, home of Elizabeth Murray, where we are invited to lunch on the terrace before discovering the garden she is passionately creating. In the afternoon, we travel up into the hills to see a relatively recent private garden that moves from intensive planting near the house across fields and then down into the woods. We are invited to tea and cake before returning to Gliffaes.