Sunday 1 February 2015

Hidcote Manor Garden

What happened to last week? Was it so awful I blotted it from my mind? I know I shovelled a half ton or so of gravel, went to another fabulous homesteading weekend and got manipulated into agreed to pinch hit for the garden club newsletter editor. Let me rectify my absence from these pages with a visit to Hidcote Manor Garden, one of the great Arts and Crafts gardens in England.

"opening to visitors 'spoils the pleasure of a garden, which should be a place of repose and to get away from this world" Lawrence Johnston


Major Johnston made this comment after he had handed his garden over to the National Trust in 1948. Then the garden was only open three afternoons a week and annual visitation was 3,500. Today it is more than 125,000 a year. How dismayed he would be. I share his sentiments so it was fortunate the day we choose was a weekday, at the beginning of the season, and threatening rain which kept the hoards at bay.

The garden covers 10 acres and contains 30 distinct areas, most of them "rooms" more or less enclosed by a variety of hedges and walls. This makes the layout sound rigid which it is not, cobblestone pathways, enticing small openings and long vistas tempt the visitor in a myriad of directions. Within the rooms much of the planting is a profusion of cottage style planting containing a multitude of different species attesting to Major Lawrence's skill as a both a colourist and plantsman. 






The plants aren't labelled but the NT website says in this garden are white phlox, common wormwood (Lambrook Silver), white roses, poppies & white acanthus. It has been suggested this garden was the inspiration for the white garden at Sissinghurst.





The stilt-garden featuring rows of pleached hornbeans


Hornbeams will tolerate clay soil and wind both conditions at Hidcote. If you aspire to an allee and have absolutely nothing else to do in order to achieve it, here is a link .

one of several beautiful gates
smaller versions of topairy birds show up throughout the garden
It takes the staff from to July to March to cut and shape all the hedges.

The red border, one of the highlights of the garden had not reached its full splendour at the time we were there. I will leave you with a smattering of flowers to add a little warmth to a dull winter day.





Next week I'll try to give you an idea of the walls and vistas in the garden.



14 comments:

  1. Only in England - what a gorgeous garden!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, we do have some beautiful gardens on the Island but probably not quite so extensive and intense. I should point out it took American money to create.

      Delete
  2. Ah, Hidcote, a wonderful garden we visited in May 2008. It was on a beautiful day and the Paeonies were on their top. But.........so many visitors, actually also for me too many. Lawrence Johnston should be annoyed.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I was very lucky to visit on a relatively quiet day.

      Delete
  3. Absolutely beautiful! Love the bird topiaries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They look like they might topple off at any moment.

      Delete
  4. I love Hidcote and have visited it a couple of times over the years. It always seems like the archetypal English garden, and it does have a romance all its own. I would love to be there on my own, without another soul in sight, but sadly I guess that is never going to happen!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been reading about the complete overhaul done in 2011. it all sounds fascinating especially all they discovered in the alpine and water gardens. They could probably make some much needed money by offering an exclusive day to nerdy types like me.

      Delete
  5. Hidcote is just up the road from me, but I always enjoy visiting. Without fail I usually find something growing that I haven't seen there before.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a completely unworkable notion of living close to it for a year. I'd love to be able to visit frequently and study it in depth. as much as I love gardens and gardening I couldn't give up a year of my life for one garden...could I?

      Delete
  6. What an outstanding garden with beautiful blooms! My mouth hit the floor at that colorful border up there! Thank you for inspiring friend! Nicole xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  7. When I went it was pouring with rain and the garden didn't look its best but I should like to go back in the sunshine when the roses are in bloom. The other downside was that it was packed full of people so you couldn't really appreciate everything fully.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A place I want to visit....those hedges are stunning and I especially love the hornbeams....I think I love that most....gardens I would never create but can aesthetically appreciate.

    ReplyDelete
  9. If those hornbeams could talk, I wonder what they'd say? They aren't allowed to have a single leaf out of place. It's a bit too brutal for my taste but the rest of the garden looks like fun. I wish I'd been there. :o)

    ReplyDelete