Hidcote

About the garden

Nestled in a north Cotswold hamlet, Hidcote is an Arts and Crafts inspired garden created by passionate plantsman and talented designer Major Lawrence Johnston. The 10.5-acre garden takes visitors on a journey through intimate formal areas revealing a different atmosphere or new vista at every turn.

Smaller, more formal garden rooms near the house give way to more natural areas that blend in with the surrounding countryside further away. A central axis running from east to west and another from north to south, form corridors off which the garden rooms can be found, each one with its own character and personality.

Using Hidcote as a blank canvas, Johnston designed the garden in phases from 1907 to 1938. He furnished borders with newly discovered plants and exotic rarities gathered during plant expeditions around the world. As a member of both the Garden Society and the RHS, Johnston and the name Hidcote have become synonymous with many plants, such as Hypericum ‘Hidcote’, Lavandula ‘Hidcote’ and Rosa ‘Lawrence Johnston’.

Described as the ‘most generous’ of hosts and gardeners, Johnston shared seeds and cuttings with friends and even opened the doors to Hidcote to the public on a few days each year. In 1948 he gifted Hidcote, now a Grade I-listed garden, to the National Trust, becoming one of the first garden-only properties in the Trust’s care. Using contemporary photographs and accounts to guide its vision, the Trust continues to care for Hidcote for future generations to enjoy.

Please note: this is a partially accessible garden.