The Hilltop Garden

You enter the eight-acre Hilltop Garden through a solid oak pergola draped with the wonderfully scented Wisteria brachybotrys ‘Shiro-kapitan’, and this conveys you to the Hilltop Terrace which is a pleasant open area with seating and superb views out across the rolling Essex Countryside. The Hilltop Garden is one of the original areas of Hyde Hall with ornamental planting.

Island beds

In the middle of the Hilltop Garden there is a collection of six, mixed-shrub and perennial borders including the viburnum island bed and winter island bed.

The viburnum island bed is home to a substantial part of the Hyde Hall’s National Viburnum Collection with the remainder spread throughout the garden. As Hyde Hall is predominantly an ornamental garden it was felt that collections should be better incorporated into ornamental planting schemes, therefore a range of perennials and other shrubs were added to extend the season of interest and create a subtle colour theme.

The winter island bed offers a fantastic display of winter interest plants and no collection would be complete without the shiny crimson stems of Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ or the dusky white arching stems of Rubus thibetanus, and these are abundantly under planted with a selection of heathers, such as Erica cinerea ‘Purple Beauty’. The use of grasses in this bed is another important feature including favourites for winter colour such as the burnt-brown hues of Carex buchananii and the curious black leaves of Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’. The frosty white bark of Betula utilis adds height and structure to the area, as does the columnar form and strange fan shaped leaves of Gingko biloba.

Herbaceous border

The herbaceous border is situated parallel to the rose garden. Divided into five bays of separate colour themes and circumscribed by sculpted hedges of Taxus baccata, they provide the visitor with a lively fiesta of colour throughout the year with a range of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, tender perennials and annuals. Every year there is a slight variation in the planting design of the herbaceous border, using new tender perennial and annual plants that are grown in our nursery.

The hot bay, as its name suggests, is brimming with fiery reds, oranges and yellows, such as the stunning form of Ricinus communis ‘Carmencita‘, the striking upright flowers of Kniphofia rooperi and the yellow discs of Rudbeckia hirta ‘Prairie Sun’. The next bay comprises silver, creams and wine reds, with the architectural form of Cynara cardunculus and the feathery foliage of Artemisia arborescens and the red of Dahlia ‘Arabian Night’ providing a complementary opposite. A palette of white, lemon and green follows, noteworthy plants including the cascading form of Helichrysum petiolare ‘Limelight’ and the quirky foliage and flowers of Salvia × jamensis ‘Moonlight Over Ashwood’. In the penultimate bay the colours change to deep pinks such as the sumptuous velvety pink of Aster novae-angliae 'Andenken an Alma Pötschke'. The border culminates in a finale of purple with the soft fluffy blooms of Salvia leucantha enhanced by the fountain like Pennisetum villosum and the dark purple almost black flowers of Scabiosa atropurpurea ‘Ace of Spades’.

Lower Pond

Flanked by several mature trees such as Salix babylonica var. pekinensis ‘Tortuosa’ and the ancient form of Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the mellow hues of autumn are reflected in the quiet waters of the lower pond. The gigantic leaved Gunnera manicata provides a stunning architectural backdrop to the bright stems of the many cultivars of Cornus and Salix, and the banks of the pond are clothed in violet blue shades of Pulmonaria and golden daffodils in the spring.

The lower pond can be enjoyed from the terraced seating area, backed by a low hedge of lavender and overlooking the mass of Persicaria bistorta, or from the covered wooden gazebo, hidden and ensconced within the new planting on the opposite side of the pond.

Gold Garden

The gold garden is another original feature of Hyde Hall, planted by original owners, Helen and Dick Robinson. As its name suggests, the predominant theme is that of golden foliage and flowers, using plants such as Aucuba japonica and Alchemilla mollis. The area was regenerated in 2005 with the removal of poor specimen plants and the addition of some new species such as Pinus mugo ‘Winter Gold’ and Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’, a deep electric blue colour designed to enhance the yellow tones of the rest of the garden.

Farmhouse Garden and Top Pond

In the farmhouse garden, the sharp crisp lines of clipped Buxus sempervirens and the formal hard landscaping enclose boxes of bold colour and shape provided by plants such as Juniperus scopulorum ‘Blue Arrow’. This area of the garden is south facing and so the main colours used are bright oranges and purples with the silvers of Artemisia used as an antithesis, as these will not fade and looked washed out in the high light levels.

The top pond is an original feature of the garden that is today stocked with water lilies and specimen Coi Carp. The terrace surrounding the pond cascade with plants and are punctuated by the columnar forms of Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’.

Woodland Garden

The woodland garden is one of the original features of the garden, with many of the plants dating back to the period when Helen Robinson first began to develop the garden in the 1960s and this is reflected in the areas maturity and the specimen trees such as Cedrus libani. The deep green foliage of the woodland area bursts into colour in the spring when the area is packed with the blooms of magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias and the viridian new fronds of the many unusual ferns such as Polystichum setiferum ‘Cristatopinnulum’ and Dryopteris affinis ‘Cristata Angustata’.

In the hot summer months the woodland garden provides a welcome cool shady retreat and is full of intriguing plants such as the finely dissected foliage of Acer palmatum var. dissectum, and the peculiar blooms of Aconitum carmichaelii.

The rose gardens

The Hilltop Garden also has three lovely areas of rose plantings.
Find out more about the rose gardens

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