The Garden at Hidcote

The garden of Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire is among the most influential gardens in England, and certainly one of the most visited. Each year more than 100,000 visitors come to this Cotswold hilltop to admire the intricate parterres and exuberant borders, to wander through the fabled series of 'garden rooms' and the mysterious woodland glades and find inspiration in the varied gallery of plants. No garden made in the 20th century has more clearly charted the direction to be taken by garden style. None has offered more vivid inspiration to the makers of gardens large and small.

Fred Whitsey, who died in 2009 at the age of 90, was for many years Gardening Correspondent first of the Sunday Telegraph and later of the Daily Telegraph. He was awarded both the Gold Veitch Memorial Medal and the Victoria Medal of Honour of the RHS. Tony Lord, photographer, writer and horticultural consultant, holds the Victoria Medal of Honour of the RHS. He has also won the Garden Writers' Guild Award for Best General Gardening Book.