KIFTSGATE COURT GARDENS

This is the fascinating story of one of the most celebrated gardens on the northern edge of the Cotswolds, which has been tended by three generations of women from the same family for the last 100 years. In the first section of the book, garden writer Vanessa Berridge looks at the history of the building and its inhabitants, going into more detail at the arrival of Heather Muir in 1919.

It was Heather who created the gardens, pretty much from scratch, adding structure, laying out the semi-formal gardens, planting the rose border and terracing the banks.

Heather planted the feminine mix of shrubs, roses and perennials that have come to characterise the gardens at Kiftsgate. She also planted the gardens most famous plant: a rambling rose called Kiftsgate, which has now spread over three trees. In the 1950s, Heather handed over to her daughter, Diany Binny, who developed and extended the planting further before handing over to her own daughter, Anne Chambers, in the late 1980s.

Introductions done, the main bulk of the book concentrates on the glorious garden, with photographs by Sabina Ruber showing it in every season, and showing the fantastic planting. There is much to take away in ideas, and a section on the garden’s signature plants will explain whether they’ll be suitable for your own garden.

Along with the book, an exhibition celebrating Kiftsgate’s centenary is being held at the Garden History Museum in London from April 12 to June 9.