Visiting Cotswold Gardens

Visiting Cotswold Gardens

Perhaps it's the sheer beauty of this area that has inspired the creation of so many superb gardens. Gardening is an English passion, and even nongardeners may be tempted by the choices large and small. The Arts and Crafts movement in Britain transformed not only interior design but also the world of gardening; at Hidcote Manor Garden, a much-visited masterpiece of the style, hedges and walls set off vistas and surround distinct themed garden rooms. Rodmarton Manor also has a garden in this style.

In the Cotswolds, as elsewhere in England, gardens often complement a stately home and deserve as close a look as the house. At Sudeley Castle, the home of Catherine Parr (Henry VIII's last wife), for example, explore the 19th-century Queen's Garden, beloved for its roses. Admirers of the naturalistic landscaping of Capability Brown can see a notable example of his large-scale work in the 2,000-acre park at Bowood House & Gardens; the spectacular rhododendron walks here are a later, 19th-century creation. Also large in scale but entirely different is Westonbirt National Arboreturm, near Tetbury, with its magnificent collection of trees. In contrast, the 18th-century Painswick Rococo Garden, with its Gothic screen and other intriguing structures, has a pleasant intimacy. Britain wouldn't be Britain without a touch of eccentricity, and in the Cotswolds the garden at the Indian-style manor of Sezincote, with its temple to a Hindu god, supplies a satisfying blend of the stately and the exotic.

Eager to see more? The National Garden Scheme (www.ngs.org.uk) publishes annual "yellow books" that list all gardens open for individual counties and for the whole country; cost is £1-£2 for a county, £7.99 for the whole country. Bookstores sell these, too.