Hidcote

 

 

Hidcote Manor Garden, in the North Cotswolds.

 

An Arts and Crafts garden, this is one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever been in. Lawrence Johnston began to create the garden in 1907 and over the space of 30 years he transformed a field containing just a few trees to a magnificent garden. It consists of at least 12 outdoor rooms

which are colourful and intricately designed, connected by a maze of narrow paved pathways. Added to that are great open vistas, a wood, a large section of 'wilderness', a kitchen garden, an orchard, great lawns, a tennis court, a bathing pool, a pond, and so much more.

 

The first time we visited was in the middle of winter and it was a delight then - but this week's visit was something else: everything was bursting with colour and it was magnificent.



 

 

 

 

By the side of the house, near the White Garden and the Maple Garden.



 

 

The Maple Garden, and in the distance one of the stone thatched cottages that were once home to the gardeners.

One of the maples, the copper colour bright in the sunshine

One of the delights of the many rooms is that there are so many openings from which to look through to another of the rooms

 

 

 



The tulips in the Old Garden were in full bloom

The honey coloured Cotswold stone always a delight

 

 

 



another look at those tulips



 

 

Everything is connected with paved pathways and seeing through to the next room is always a pleasure

 

 

 



a magnificent rhododendron

 

The Circle, a symphony of blue and lilac

 



 

 

 

 

and the iris are stunning

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

peeping through

some open spaces too, in contrast to the intimacy of the 'rooms'

 

The entrance to the Bathing Pool section framed by topiary of two birds

 

 

 

 



 

the steps down to the Bathing Pool - every single detail is carefully thought out in this garden

 

 

 



 

The Bathing Pool

 

 

 

 

looking closer

 

 

 

looking at the Bathing Pool through the hedge opening - so much in this garden is framed

a delightful little garden house

 



with modern murals

 

 



 

old tiles

and more modern murals

 



 

The Poppy Garden

 

 

 

 

The Upper Stream Garden

 

 



Moving on to the Central Stream Garden

 

over the bridge

 

 



 

 

The spectacular wisteria covering the Tool Shed

one more photograph

 

 

 



walking out of the Tool Shed I found myself under and inside the wisteria

the scent was heady

 

The Lily Pool which is by the Plant House

 



 

 

 

One of the four wisteria trees at the end of the Long Borders

 



 

 

 

The Orchard

 



 

 

 



and then we entered The Wood

 

 



 

 

The Beech Allee

 



 

 

 

peaceful and cool and we seemed to be the only people there on a hot and very busy day

 



 

 

The Great Lawn, and I loved the curved line of the hedge

beautiful, colourful  borders

 

 

 



 

 



The Stilt Garden, leading

 

 

 

 

 

 

on to fields with the most spectacular views of the Cotswold countryside

 

 



 

 

 

looking closer

 

 

The Pillar Garden

The Rock Bank

 

 



 

The Long Walk

 



 

 

 

which lead to the edge of the garden and more spectacular views of the Cotswolds

The Wilderness

 

The Wilderness still

 



 

 

between the Hudrangea Corner and the Central Stream Garden

Mrs Winthrop's Garden

a round stepping stone over the stream leading on to

 

The Lime Bower

 



 

 

some colour

retracing our steps

 

another look at The Long Walk

 

 



 

 

and then we found ourselves  in The Bathing Pool Garden again, and noticed this lone Himalayan Poppy

a stunning flower

 

 

and a stunning blue.

 

 

 

 

 

and when Ken went to the shop, I stood under the dogwood, or handkerchief tree.

 

'This place is a jungle of beauty; a jungle controlled by a single mind; a jungle never allowed to deteriorate into a mere jungle, but always kept in bounds by a master hand': Vita Sackville-West.

 

 

 

A long post? Absolutely. And yet I have shown only a fraction of this extraordinary garden.