Exploring Famous Gardens in the Cotswolds: A Tour Through History and Design

Exploring Famous Gardens in the Cotswolds: A Tour Through History and Design

The Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), is not only celebrated for its charming villages and rolling hills but also for its world-renowned gardens. The region’s rich history, fertile soil, and varied landscape have allowed some of the most iconic gardens in the UK to flourish here. From grand estates to intimate walled gardens, the Cotswolds offers a wealth of horticultural treasures, each with unique style, story, and significance.

In this post, we’ll tour some of the most famous gardens in the Cotswolds, uncovering their history, design features, and enduring appeal. Whether you're a seasoned gardener, a lover of landscape design, or simply someone who appreciates natural beauty, these gardens offer endless inspiration.

Hidcote Manor Garden: A Masterpiece of Arts and Crafts Design

No discussion of famous gardens in the Cotswolds would be complete without mentioning Hidcote Manor Garden. Located near Chipping Campden, Hidcote is one of the most influential gardens of the 20th century, and it played a key role in shaping modern garden design.

Hidcote was created by the American horticulturist Lawrence Johnston in the early 1900s, who was heavily influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement. Johnston transformed the grounds of Hidcote Manor into a series of "garden rooms," each with its own distinct character and planting scheme. This innovative design concept allowed for a blend of formal and informal elements, with structured hedges giving way to more naturalistic plantings.

Key Features of Hidcote Manor Garden:

• Garden Rooms: Hidcote’s garden rooms are its defining feature. Each room is separated by hedges or walls, creating intimate spaces that offer a new experience at every turn. The Red Borders and the White Garden are famous examples of how Johnston used colour to create mood and contrast.

• Herbaceous Borders: Johnston’s approach to herbaceous borders, where flowers of varying heights and colours are arranged in an artful blend, has become a staple of English garden design.

• Naturalistic Planting: Despite the garden's formal layout, Johnston’s planting style is relaxed, with a focus on texture, colour, and plants' natural growth habits.

Hidcote remains one of the most visited gardens in the Cotswolds. It is managed by the National Trust, which ensures its preservation for future generations. Its influence on garden design in the UK and abroad cannot be overstated.

Kiftsgate Court Gardens: A Garden Created by Three Generations of Women

Just a stone’s throw from Hidcote lies another iconic Cotswold garden: Kiftsgate Court Gardens. While it may be less well-known than Hidcote, Kiftsgate is equally remarkable for its beauty and innovation.

The garden was begun in the 1920s by Heather Muir, who, like Johnston at Hidcote, was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement. However, Kiftsgate has a more personal, intimate feel, passed down through three generations of women in the same family. Muir’s daughter, Diany Binny, and granddaughter, Anne Chambers, each contributed to the garden, adding their creative touches while maintaining the original vision.

Key Features of Kiftsgate Court Gardens:

• The Kiftsgate Rose: One of the garden’s most famous features is the Kiftsgate Rose (Rosa filipes ‘Kiftsgate’), which is said to be the largest rose in England. This vigorous climber produces masses of white blooms in the summer, creating a dramatic display.

• Terraced Garden: The garden is built on a series of terraces, with stunning views over the surrounding countryside. The terraces feature a formal and informal planting blend, with roses, perennials, and shrubs providing year-round interest.

• The Water Garden: A more modern addition, the Water Garden, was designed by Anne Chambers and reflects a contemporary approach to garden design. The minimalist layout, with reflective pools and sculptures, contrasts with the more traditional parts of the garden, creating a sense of balance between old and new.

Kiftsgate remains a family-run garden, and its history of female stewardship adds charm and significance to this already enchanting space.

Sudeley Castle Gardens: A Living Piece of History

Sudeley Castle, located near Winchcombe, is famous for its historical significance and magnificent gardens. The castle has been home to several queens, including Katherine Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII, who is buried in the castle’s chapel.

The gardens at Sudeley have evolved over the centuries, but today, they are a stunning blend of formal and informal designs, each offering a different perspective on the castle’s rich history. The Queen’s Garden, named in honour of Katherine Parr, is perhaps the most famous. It features a traditional Tudor-style knot garden that harks back to the garden designs of the 16th century.

Key Features of Sudeley Castle Gardens:

• The Queen’s Garden: This beautifully restored knot garden is planted with over 80 roses, creating a stunning display of colour and fragrance in the summer months. The symmetrical layout and intricate patterns are a nod to the formal gardens of the Tudor period.

• The Tithe Barn Garden: This informal garden is centred around the ruins of the Tithe Barn, creating a romantic setting where nature and history intertwine. A tranquil pond and lush planting make this one of the most peaceful spots in the castle grounds.

• Herb and Physic Garden: In keeping with the castle’s medieval roots, the Herb Garden features plants that would have been used for culinary and medicinal purposes in the past. This garden offers a glimpse into how gardens were not only spaces for beauty but also practicality.

Sudeley Castle’s gardens are a living testament to the layers of history that have shaped the castle itself. They offer visitors a chance to experience a rich tapestry of planting styles and historical influences.

Batsford Arboretum: A Garden for Tree Lovers

For those who love trees, Batsford Arboretum near Moreton-in-Marsh is a must-visit. Covering over 55 acres, Batsford is one of the largest private arboretums in the country and is home to a vast collection of trees and shrubs from around the world.

The arboretum was developed in the late 19th century by Lord Redesdale, a passionate plant collector who filled the garden with rare and exotic species, many of which were sourced during his travels in Asia. Today, Batsford is a haven for tree enthusiasts, with an impressive collection of Japanese maples, magnolias, and cherry blossoms that create a spectacular display throughout the year.

Key Features of Batsford Arboretum:

• Japanese Garden: One of Batsford's highlights is its Japanese Garden, complete with traditional stone lanterns, a thatched pavilion, and a collection of Japanese acers that turn vibrant shades of red, orange, and gold in the autumn.

• Spring Blooms: Batsford is particularly famous for its spring display, which includes magnolias, cherry blossoms, and rhododendrons, creating a riot of colour. The arboretum’s spring-flowering trees and shrubs collection is one of the country's finest.

• Autumn Foliage: In the autumn, Batsford becomes a tapestry of colour, with the arboretum’s extensive collection of maples, liquidambars, and birches putting on a spectacular show of red, orange, and yellow foliage.

Batsford Arboretum offers a tranquil escape for anyone interested in trees and plant collections. Its carefully curated landscape provides year-round interest.

Highgrove Gardens: A Royal Garden with a Sustainable Mission

Highgrove House, King Charles III's private residence, is home to one of the most famous gardens in the Cotswolds. Located near Tetbury, Highgrove Gardens reflect the King’s passion for organic gardening and sustainability, emphasising biodiversity and working harmoniously with nature.

Since acquiring Highgrove in 1980, King Charles has overseen the transformation of the gardens, turning them into a model of sustainable gardening practices. The garden features a mix of formal and informal designs, with wildflower meadows, organic vegetable gardens, and carefully structured hedges all contributing to its layout.

Key Features of Highgrove Gardens:

• The Wildflower Meadow: One of Highgrove's standout features is its wildflower meadow, which is home to a diverse range of native British wildflowers. The meadow is designed to attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies and provides a vibrant display of colour in the summer months.

• The Sundial Garden: This formal garden, designed around a central sundial, features neatly clipped hedges, herbaceous borders, and a colour scheme that changes seasons.

• The Stumpery: A more unusual feature of the garden is the stumpery, a Victorian-inspired garden area where upturned tree stumps create a dramatic backdrop for ferns, mosses, and shade-loving plants. The stumpery reflects King Charles’s interest in traditional gardening practices and his desire to create a haven for wildlife.

Highgrove Gardens is not open to the public year-round, but guided tours are available on select days. These tours offer visitors a rare glimpse into this private royal retreat and its environmentally conscious design.

Barnsley House: A Garden Designed by Rosemary Verey

Barnsley House, located near Cirencester, is famous for its beautiful gardens designed by the legendary Rosemary Verey. Verey, one of the most influential garden designers of the 20th century, created a garden that combines formal structure with a romantic planting style, making Barnsley House one of the most admired gardens in the Cotswolds.

Verey’s design at Barnsley House is renowned for its clever use of perspective, symmetry, and colour. The garden includes a mix of traditional English planting schemes, such as herbaceous borders and topiary, alongside more unusual features like a potager (decorative vegetable garden).

Key Features of Barnsley House Gardens:

• The Potager: One of the most famous aspects of the garden is the potager, where vegetables, herbs, and flowers are planted in decorative patterns. Verey’s potager was one of the first to elevate the kitchen garden to an ornamental feature, and it has since inspired countless similar designs around the world.

• Topiary: The garden features a range of topiary, with carefully clipped box hedges creating structure and formality. The use of topiary in the garden reflects Verey’s belief in the importance of strong design principles, even in informal settings.

• Herbaceous Borders: Verey’s skill in combining colour and texture is evident in the garden’s herbaceous borders, where perennials such as delphiniums, phlox, and geraniums create a lush, colourful display throughout the summer.

Today, Barnsley House operates as a hotel and spa, but the gardens remain one of the main attractions, offering visitors a chance to experience Verey’s vision of a garden that is both beautiful and practical.

The Enduring Legacy of Cotswold Gardens

The Cotswolds is home to some of the most famous and influential gardens in the world, each with its own unique style, history, and significance. From the pioneering garden rooms of Hidcote Manor to the organic principles of Highgrove, these gardens represent the best of English garden design, blending tradition with innovation.

Whether you’re visiting the structured elegance of a Tudor knot garden, the wild beauty of a meadow at Highgrove, or the intimate charm of Kiftsgate, the gardens of the Cotswolds offer endless inspiration for gardeners and nature lovers alike. As these gardens continue to evolve, they remind us of the enduring appeal of creating spaces that bring together nature, artistry, and history in perfect harmony.