Hidcote Gardens, or more properly, Hidcote Manor Gardens, is not one garden but a series of completely different gardens divided into rooms by a series of tall hedges. Hidcote is the creation of Lawrence Johnson, an American officer of English heritage, who began building his gardens in 1907. The site he chose on the hillside below Hidcote Manor was very unsuitable for any kind of garden.
The site was subject to strong winds, and the limestone-rich soil should have severely limited Johnson's options of plants. But the determined Johnson ignored these difficulties. He dealt with the wind problem by planting the hedges and used the hedges to link individual gardens by passages and compartments.
Each garden "room" at Hidcote has its own layout, its own varieties of plants and its own style of planting. Even plants that hate limestone, such as camellias, magnolias, and rhododendrons, have been induced to grow here by creating beds of sawdust.
A simple stream that used to run down the hillside unchecked was induced to form little cascades and pools.
So innovative have been the gardening practices at Hidcote that a whole variety of plants now bear the Hidcote name. Johnson's efforts have produced a garden that has been called the most beautiful of the 20th century.
Hidcote is now in the care of the National Trust, and there are plants for sale as well as a gift shop in the manor house. Hidcote is a must-see for anyone interested in English gardens.
