Houghton Lodge Gardens

About the garden

Built in 1793, Houghton Lodge was likely intended as a fishing lodge. The formal and informal gardens surround England’s finest surviving example of an 18th-century Cottage Orné, idyllically set above the tranquil waters of the River Test.

The garden features a chalk cob-walled garden with 32 different varieties of apple trees, a hosta bed, iris beds and a themed herb garden that includes medicinal, natural dye, pot-pourri and herbal tea beds. In 2023, a new Oriental Garden opened with an acer walk, cherry orchard, rose garden, Nikko bridge and water-loving marginal plants. Among Houghton Lodge’s hidden treasures are the world-record-breaking champion espalier pear tree and the semi-formal box parterre that forms the stunning peacock topiary garden.

There are over 15 acres of water meadows and walks along the picturesque River Test, where visitors may encounter friendly alpacas, Hebridean sheep and resident ‘snorting’ Topiary dragon.