Hidcote in Gloucestershire is an arts and crafts property that is now managed by the National Trust. It’s a fabulous place and is rightly one of the ‘must see’ gardens for any designer. It was laid out by Major Lawrence Johnston as a collection of small rooms within a large garden. Each ‘room’ has its own character and the visitor is drawn through to the next by a ‘doorway’, which range in style from modest gaps cut into the huge thick yew hedges to others like this one emphasised with steps, a balustrade and topped with an eyecatcher – small summerhouses in some places or topiary yew birds here. I like that the forget-me-nots have been allowed to take over the steps. They soften the stone and gives the garden a welcoming, homey feel that any garden could achieve. 

There is a hierarchy within the rooms and their entrances reflecting their character, whether they be quiet and intimate or large for socialising and people watching. One room is calm and dominated by an enormous circular, flat calm reflecting pool; another is a sunken woodland room following a small, vibrant natural stream with bold and enthusiastic woodland planting; there are wide open lawns and corridors for games of chase, and a huge glasshouse and kitchen garden. 

I highly recommend visiting if you can. It’s tucked away in the Cotswolds so the surrounding rabbit warren of lanes and landscape turn it into an adventure with a hidden gem of a garden at the end.

Visit https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/gloucestershire-cotswolds/hidcote for details.