National Gardening Week falls in April, making it the ideal month to showcase some overseas homes with exceptional gardens. Which of these is your favourite?

Limousin, France
Tucked away in a pretty hamlet in the Limousin, the landscaped garden of this charming period property is the ideal place to enjoy a stroll and soak up some of that French ‘joie de vivre’.

Stepping out of the house you enter a world of manicured paths that wind around mature colourful flower beds and between trees. The property also includes a 3.6-acre field, not forgetting the heated swimming pool. With four bedrooms, one being a separate guest room, this fully renovated property is just 50 kilometres from Limoges airport. For more information, click on the image.

Mallorca, Spain
A popular hang-out for the world’s rich

and famous, many of whom never leave the deck of superyacht, Mallorca does have its quieter side, where you’ll find some gorgeous rustic properties.

This four-bedroom country home is in the south-east corner of the Balearic island, in the countryside between Campos and Sa Rapita, and falls into that category thanks to the mesmerising grounds that complement its stunning interior. The property’s 24,000-square-metre plot seamlessly brings together open and covered terraces, landscaped areas of flower beds, palm trees and lawns, a swimming pool and ample parking space. No need to worry about irrigating all of this either – it comes with its own well!

Puglia, Italy
Basking in the southern Italian sunshine, this character property near Fasano in the Puglian countryside incorporates local stone throughout. Dry stone walls, for which the Itria Valley is famous, are prevalent not only in the three-bedroom villa, complete with conical ‘trulli’ constructions, but also the landscaped terraces of the 2,000-square-metre plot that looks out over olive groves.

Even the swimming pool, surrounded by a beautiful stone terrace, has been cleverly built into the rock, making it an enchanting place to lie back and embrace la dolce vita. The odd olive tree and shrub dotted between the terraces add the finishing touch to this fabulous outdoor space.

Silves, Portugal
Just inland from Portimão in the western Algarve, this four-bedroom rustic villa near Silves sits on a 15,450-square-metre fenced plot with views across unspoilt countryside towards the sea.

Mature trees, including fruits and palms, and shrubs fringe the lawned area that slopes down from the large terrace to the salt-water swimming pool, with its own large terrace. The property has mains water but also boasts its own borehole. It’s a peaceful natural haven that is amazingly still just 15 minutes’ drive from the beach and 10 minutes from a golf course.

Malta
Typical of a Maltese house of character, this stunning 300-year-old property in

Mosta comes with an immaculate walled garden, bursting with colour and shades of greenery.

Indoor and outdoor living fuse effortlessly in these types of traditional property, with access from the house leading straight onto the large terraced area that surrounds the swimming pool. Inside, the three-bedroom house has been beautifully converted, retaining original features with a focal point being the now-covered interior courtyard.