SIGNS that a brand new season is almost upon us are greeting visitors to Batsford Arboretum where carpets of snowdrops and festoons of blossom stretch as far as the eye can see.

This is the vision this week that met 16-month-old Phoebe Ford as she sat and played among the harbingers of spring that remind us winter is fading and warmer weather is around the corner.

The arboretum and botanical gardens is set in 55 acres and bursting with new life at every turn.

Run by the Batsford Foundation, it won silver in the Cotswold Tourism Awards Large Visitor Attraction of the Year 2014 and is home to the country's largest private collection of trees and shrubs.

"The arboretum looks stunning with lots of snowdrops, winter aconites, hellebores, daffodils and spring flowering trees all in glorious flower," said Phoebe's grandfather, Stuart Priest, director of operations at the arboretum.

"Phoebe loves flowers and going for walks in the arboretum."

The arboretum, visitor centre, garden shop and cafe is open every day except Christmas Day.