Hergest Croft Gardens shortlisted for coveted national award

The Historic Houses Association Garden of the Year Award 2023 has officially been launched this month with six beautiful gardens competing to be named the Garden of the Year in a national public vote.

The award, in conjunction with Christie’s auction house, has gone from strength to strength with tens of thousands of votes cast in recent years.

And for Hergest Croft Gardens, on the outskirts of Kington, it has just found out it has made the shortlist.

OTHER NEWS:

• Only Fools and Horses star's Herefordshire mansion for sale
• Herefordshire petrol station taken over and a major change is planned
• Four-night closure for major Herefordshire road after hard-fought campaign

“We are absolutely thrilled and delighted to be shortlisted with some of the finest gardens in the country," said Austyn Hallworth, the gardens' head of marketing and PR

“The hard work now begins as we need to generate in excess of 4,000 votes to win before the closing date at the end of August.

"So, we are appealing to the lovely people of Hereford, the county and beyond to spend just a minute or two of their time to go online and vote for their local garden.

"It is so important to us and if we win, it will bring significant footfall to the gardens and the surrounding area."

The public can vote here here: historichouses.org/vote-for-garden-of-the-year-2023.

Hergest Croft Gardens in Kington extends to around 70 acres with more than 5,000 rare trees and shrubs.

Described as "one of the finest collections of trees and shrubs in the British Isles", the gardens hold the UK National Collections of Maples, Birches and Zelkovas.

OTHER NEWS:

• Centre which is lifeline to people in Hereford set to close
• Why this Herefordshire man will be dragging a tyre across the UK
• Sunshine on the way in Hereford next week as 'soft heatwave' forecast

The six distinct areas are Hergest Croft, the Azalea Garden, the Maple Grove, the Kitchen Garden, the Park and Park Wood.

Ursula Cholmeley, chair of the Historic Houses Gardens committee, said: "The Garden of the Year Award is a great opportunity to recognise and reward the beauty and quality of independent historic gardens.

"The hard work that is put in to maintaining and evolving these gardens is undisputed, and it’s so important that not only the owners are celebrated but also the gardeners and volunteer teams who give up their time and effort day in, day out to preserving independently owned heritage.

"These gardens are amongst the finest in the country and we hope that you will get great pleasure from visiting some of them and voting for your favourite."