By George Plumptre, photographs by Marcus Harpur

Author, George Plumptre, Chief Executive of the National Garden Scheme, takes 25 of the most charismatic English country house gardens of the last century and, across five chapters, uses them to illustrate a rich and vibrant story.

He sets the scene with ‘the three essentials’ of Hidcote, Sissinghurst and Great Dixter, examining why they have achieved pre-eminent reputations for more than a century. Next, he takes five gardens to illustrate the sweep of ‘unfolding history’ from Elizabethan Montacute to Edwardian Folly Farm. Then he illustrates the ‘country house garden ideal’ and how a select group of gardens evoke this. These lead on to ‘personal creations’ where the garden is an expression of personality or family, and finally he turns his attention to ‘contemporary designs and reveals how the country house garden provides the stage for some of the most dynamic work by designers today.

Glorious photographs capture the gardens at their most beautiful across the seasons, and this newly updated and revised edition is dedicated to the memory of its photographer, Marcus Harpur.

“The English Country House garden is the envy of the world”
Country Life

“The English Country House Garden shows how we absolutely rock at gardening”
Independent on Sunday

“This book stands as a feast of horticulture and Englishness.”
House and Garden

Hardcover
Pages: 208
Published: 1 October 2018

100% of the profits go to ABF The Soldiers' Charity.