Levens Hall and Gardens, home to the world's oldest topiary garden, is celebrating World Topiary Day with an international 'relay'.

The historic Elizabethan property has created a 'topiary message in a bottle' as its 'baton'.

This message conveys their gratitude to other global gardens for taking part in World Topiary Day 2024 and invites them to add their garden stamp, showing where the bottle has journeyed.

The bottle's relay adventure started in the hands of the owner of Levens Hall and Gardens, Richard Bagot.

The first relay point is the Monumental Gardens of Valsanzibio, located in Italy.

The Valsanzibio team is keen to greet the bottle's arrival by snapping some photos of it and sharing them on social media platforms.

Valsanzibio is home to the highest concentration of boxwood plants in the world.

These plants come together to create walls exceeding five metres in height and form a labyrinth with more than 6,000 boxwood plants.

Boxwood borders also create avenues, representing those in the Calle Veneziana, Venice.

After visiting Valsanzibio, the bottle is expected to proceed to the Jardins des Marqueyssac in France, where a collection of 150,000 hand-pruned boxwoods waits.

Past Marqueyssac, the bottle ventures on to La Ballue near Mont Saint-Michel.

This garden flaunts numerous 'outdoor rooms' featuring imaginative topiary.

The bottle will continue to be passed from garden to garden until it returns to Levens Hall and Gardens in time for World Topiary Day on Sunday, May 12.

On that day, visitors to Levens Hall can anticipate a topiary art workshop and special garden tours led by head gardener, Chris Crowder.

Mr Bagot said: "We are delighted by how many gardens have embraced World Topiary Day and our message in a bottle initiative further helps bring the global topiary community together.

"We look forward to seeing social media posts, as the bottle makes its way from garden to garden."

For British gardens interested in joining the relay upon the bottle's return, please reach out via WTD@catapultpr.co.uk .

Further details about World Topiary Day are available on www.levenshall.co.uk