BRITAIN’S GOT GARDENS
The charming Arts and Crafts garden at Hidcote has a series of enticing outdoor rooms
When a garden is divided into several enclosed areas or outdoor “rooms”, it creates a sense of intrigue, privacy and peace.
There are several great gardens where this is done well, but the place that inspired most of them, and one of the best examples of a compartmentalised garden, is Hidcote. Situated in the rolling Cotswolds hills, this Arts and Crafts garden is composed of enclosed formal areas linked by archways, paths and vistas.
In garden design, an outdoor room is a space contained by hedging or walls, within a garden. As well as creating a relaxing sense of intimacy, having several compartments within a garden allows for variety, as each area could be planted in a different style or colour.
At Hidcote, the eight main rooms include a White Garden (with beds of white planting amongst topiary pieces, framed by hedging), a Bathing Pool Garden (with a circular pool and fountain encased by tall hedges), and Red Borders (of crimson flowers and foliage, dominated by gazebos, and framed by clipped hedging).
The 10.5-acre garden here was created from a blank canvas of farmland around the 17th-century house by Major Lawrence Johnston. Between 1907 and 1938, he took design influence from the Arts and Crafts movement and used specimens collected on his planting hunting expeditions overseas to produce this wonderful collection of several small gardens within one large garden. In 1948, he entrusted Hidcote to the National Trust, and it is now Grade I listed.
The Hidcote principle of outdoor rooms can be applied to the average small to medium-sized garden.
Dividing the space into compartments makes the garden seem larger, and it gives the opportunity to create privacy from neighbours, to enjoy several design and planting styles, and to make the garden more exciting, with each area hidden around a corner. Hidcote is a great place to visit to find inspiration. It is at its best in summer and early autumn, with a glorious surprise at every turn.
See nationaltrust.org.uk/ hidcote or call 01386 438333