HERGEST CROFT GARDENS
Nestled under iconic Hergest Ridge with fabulous view towards the Black Mountains, these critically acclaimed and stunning 70 acre gardens hold national collections of Maples, Birches and Zelkovas. Created and extended by five generations of the Banks family, Hergest Croft Gardens boast one of the finest collections of plants and shrubs in the UK, with many rare and exotic species and over 130 Champion trees.
What's flowering now?
Hydrangeas always strike me as quintessentially English, although by far the greatest species diversity is found in eastern Asia, in Korea, China and Japan. I think it is the attractively muted colours of many varieties, and perhaps the fact that they are at their best in July and August that make them seem so very English. Anyway, they are still flowering at Hergest Croft now, although they aren’t enjoying the drought we are suffering.
Another late bloomer is the agapanthus, and these are looking lovely right now in the bed on the lower terrace just beneath the Croft. They form a cool contrast with the hot red salvias, dahlias and ginger lilies in the bed above. Mediterranean plants more generally are loving the unusually – well – Mediterranean conditions: the border immediately in front of the Conservatory is abundant and colourful, as are the pelargoniums within.
Make sure to pay a visit to the Croquet Lawn where the hedges have been newly and very smartly clipped and shaped. This is the time of year when we hire a cherry-picker for the week to carry out high level tree work for both aesthetic and safety reasons, and more noticeably for the annual clipping of the yew hedges. Headily scented lilies grace pots around the Croquet Lawn: this is a good place to sit on a bench and let the day slide by.
Artist in Residence
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Miranda Whitten-Walker as our new Artist in Residence for the 2026 season.A Kington-based contemporary artist and printmaker, Miranda will undertake a twelve-month residency from March 2026, working in the gardens throughout the seasons and drawing inspiration from Hergest Croft’s celebrated landscape, champion trees and rare plant collections.
Specialising in nature and landscapes, Miranda is particularly known for her complex, multi-layered linocut prints, which explore British hill ranges from unusual perspectives. Her work typically begins as plein-air sketches made outdoors, before being developed in the studio into prints with a distinctive painterly quality, blending abstract and realistic elements. Strongly influenced by the textures and erosive forces shaping the rural environment, her practice reflects a deep engagement with landscape and place.
An emerging figure in the UK art scene, Whitten-Walker was the 2025 recipient of the h.Art Emerging Artist Bursary Award, having shifted to full-time art in 2024 from a career as a biologist. She is a self-taught artist, a Fellow of the RSA and a member of Aberystwyth Printmakers. Her work has been exhibited widely across the Welsh Borders and beyond, including in Ironbridge and at Liverpool’s Bluecoat, and has featured in publications by the BBC and Oxford University Press.
As featured in
HEREFORD
TIMES
COUNTRYLIFE
BBC WALES