Hidcote Manor

We enjoyed a lovely morning out with my sister Janet at Hidcote Manor Garden, a National Trust property near Chipping Campden. It is regarded as one of the best known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain, with its linked “garden rooms” of hedges, rare trees, shrubs and herbaceous borders. It was designed by Major Lawrence Johnston, who was born in Paris of wealthy American parents. He studied at Trinity College Cambridge, and shortly afterwards became a British citizen. The estate was purchased in 1907 by his mother, and Johnston began a programme of 40 years work on its gardens. As we read a board about him in the gardens, we both thought the name seemed familiar, and I looked him up on my phone, and realized he had bought a property near Menton in southern France, Serre de la Madone, and had designed the gardens there, which we had visited during our last stay in France, 2013-2017. He bought Serre de la Madone in 1924, and from then on would spend most of the year in Menton, and a few summer months at Hidcote. From 1945, Johnston spent more time at Serre de la Madone, and the National Trust acquired Hidcote in 1948.
Janet didn’t want to leave her puppy Trixie for too long, so we went back to her house for a salad lunch, then in the afternoon Roger and I went to get some exercise on the Malverns. It was a beautiful afternoon, and the visibility was great, affording extensive views. (See extra)
Step count: 13,203