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?
It is the time of roses and clematis and both are growing in abundance at Hergest. Do visit the Old Roses at the north of the Kitchen Garden, which are a particular delight – it is almost haunting to think that some of these varieties date back to C17th France and Holland, and that others were reputedly brought back from the Middle East by Crusaders. They grow abundantly in every shade of pink and their fragrance is heavenly. The names are wonderful too: Rosa ‘Chapeau de Napoleon’ has to be one of the best.
Or head up into the shade of the Azalea Garden and Maple Grove. Look out for the Pterocarya macroptera with its stunning trailing catkins. Then, as you approach the Millennium Bench, you will find numerous varieties of Cornus. These are floriferous at the moment, bearing stunning white flowers with some varieties gradually shading to pink with time.
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