Kiftsgate Court Gardens: Three Generations of Women Gardners
Kiftsgate Court in Gloucestershire is a garden composed of many different scenes. Some elements – such as the Rose Border, with its famously huge Kiftsgate rose – are traditionally English, but there are also areas of Italianate terracing, and others where a mixture of perennials, roses and rare and exotic shrubs thrive side by side. Equally remarkable is the fine balance between continuity and gentle evolution that the visitor finds at Kiftsgate. This is largely because the garden has belonged to the same family since its creation 100 years ago: three women have tended Kiftsgate, each building on the legacy of the previous generation. Beginning in 1919, Heather Muir gave Kiftsgate its structure, laying out the semi-formal gardens by the house, planting the Rose Border and terracing the Banks. In 1954 Heather was succeeded by her daughter Diany Binny, who extended and developed her mother’s planting, made more borders and paths, and refashioned the White Sunk Garden. Since the late 1980s Diany’s daughter Anne Chambers has been at the helm, further modernizing the garden, creating new areas of interest, and opening the site more often to the public. For this beautiful new book, Vanessa Berridge has had exclusive access to the Kiftsgate archive, which contains not only family photographs but also letters from their gardening friends, helping us to understand why and how Heather, Diany and Anne have gardened. Among the circle of famous friends and acquaintances who feature are Lawrence Johnston of Hidcote Manor (Kiftsgate’s neighbour); Vita Sackville-West, the creator of Sissinghurst Castle Garden; and the horticulturalist Graham Stuart Thomas, gardens adviser to the National Trust. The book also takes the reader on an extended tour of the garden, illustrated by the glorious photography of Sabina Rüber. The tour concludes with notes on Kiftsgate’s signature plants and Anne Chambers’s personal reflections on this, one of the great gardens of England.
| Weight | 1.475000 |
|---|---|
| ISBN13/Barcode | 9781858946696 |
| ISBN10 | 1858946697 |
| Author | Vanessa Berridge |
| Binding | Hardback |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 11th April 2019 |
| Pages | 192 |
| Publisher | Merrell Publishers |
Photography by Sabina Rüber
Foreword by Robin Lane Fox
Kiftsgate Court in Gloucestershire is a garden composed of many different scenes. Some elements – such as the Rose Border, with its famously huge Kiftsgate rose – are traditionally English, but there are also areas of Italianate terracing, and others where a mixture of perennials, roses and rare and exotic shrubs thrive side by side. Equally remarkable is the fine balance between continuity and gentle evolution that the visitor finds at Kiftsgate. This is largely because the garden has belonged to the same family since its creation 100 years ago: three women have tended Kiftsgate, each building on the legacy of the previous generation. Beginning in 1919, Heather Muir gave Kiftsgate its structure, laying out the semi-formal gardens by the house, planting the Rose Border and terracing the Banks. In 1954 Heather was succeeded by her daughter Diany Binny, who extended and developed her mother’s planting, made more borders and paths, and refashioned the White Sunk Garden. Since the late 1980s Diany’s daughter Anne Chambers has been at the helm, further modernizing the garden, creating new areas of interest, and opening the site more often to the public. For this beautiful new book, Vanessa Berridge has had exclusive access to the Kiftsgate archive, which contains not only family photographs but also letters from their gardening friends, helping us to understand why and how Heather, Diany and Anne have gardened. Among the circle of famous friends and acquaintances who feature are Lawrence Johnston of Hidcote Manor (Kiftsgate’s neighbour); Vita Sackville-West, the creator of Sissinghurst Castle Garden; and the horticulturalist Graham Stuart Thomas, gardens adviser to the National Trust. The book also takes the reader on an extended tour of the garden, illustrated by the glorious photography of Sabina Rüber. The tour concludes with notes on Kiftsgate’s signature plants and Anne Chambers’s personal reflections on this, one of the great gardens of England.
The first book devoted to one of England's most beautiful and varied gardens, which has belonged to the same family since its creation
Published to coincide with the centenary of the garden at Kiftsgate and the opening of an exhibition at the Garden Museum in London
With specially commissioned photography of the garden year-round by Sabina Rüberrs