Kiftsgate Court is celebrating its centenary. A new book by Vanessa Berridge charts the history of this unusual Cotswold garden.
I was given a free copy of the book in return for a review
Kiftsgate Court was one of the first gardens I visited on moving to the Cotswolds and it’s remained a favourite ever since. I’ve written about it many times and always go confident that there will be something new to discover.
Indeed, it’s the complexity of the garden situated high up in the Cotswolds that makes it so memorable, be it the changes in style and mood from the flower-filled romance of the Four Squares to the Italianate terraces and the stark modernity of The Water Garden. Add to that a wealth of unusual plants and it’s always puzzled me that Kiftsgate isn’t better known.
Possibly, as the book suggests, this is because Kiftsgate has always been somewhat overshadowed by its near neighbour, Hidcote Manor Garden. There was also little in the way of self-publicity in the early days or public opening. This has changed over the past 30 years as a necessary way of making the garden pay for itself.
Kiftsgate has been gardened by the same family for 100 years and, more remarkably, by three generations of women, each adding their own style and ensuring the garden has developed rather than stagnated.
It’s a journey that Vannessa Berridge charts in Kiftsgate Court Gardens, Three Generations of Women Gardeners from its creation in the interwar years by Heather Muir, through to the tenure of her daughter Diany Binny and the current ownership by Diany’s daughter, Anne Chambers.
All three were untrained horticulturally but learned from each other, by visiting gardens in this country and abroad and from a host of gardening friends – the book reads in many ways like a Who’s Who of the horticultural world with references to advice and visits from Vita Sackville West and Graham Stuart Thomas, among others.
The book opens with an in-depth profile of each of the women and their time at Kiftsgate with information drawn from access to the family’s private papers and lengthy interviews with Anne Chambers.
There follows a detailed ‘tour’ of the garden looking at what is planted there and why it works.
We learn that “almost every shrub or tree has a history”. Some, such as Rosa ‘Albertine’, which scrambles up the house, is a replacement for the original that was planted in 1921. Others have more modern links: Anne planted a Rosa x odorata ‘Pallida’ after admiring it in a friend’s garden.
The necessary frugal nature of a private garden has proved a blessing: Kiftsgate has always propagated its own box plants and so has escaped the blight that has cursed many Cotswold gardens.
Of course, a book on Kiftsgate would not be complete without mention of the rose that bears its name and there is a section devoted to this rampant rambler.
Particularly useful is the ‘Kiftsgate Signature Plants’ chapter, which profiles eight of the plants that are particularly associated with the garden.
With photographs by Sabina Rüber charting the garden through the seasons, the book is a an excellent way of understanding what makes this garden special and the next best thing to a visit.
• Kiftsgate Court Gardens: Three Generations of Women Gardeners by Vanessa Berridge with photographs by Sabina Rüber is published by Merrell Publishers and costs £40.
You can read more of my book reviews here.
For more garden book reviews and gardening chat, do follow the blog.