Bowood is Garden of the Year
2014 Garden of the year has been named as Bowood in Wiltshire


Bowood in Wiltshire, with its magnificent 70-acre walk through rhododendrons, magnolias and azaleas, has been named the 2014 Garden of the Year, an award sponsored by Christie's and the Historic Houses Association.
The current Marquess of Lansdowne, Bowood's owner, has maintained the high standards of presentation set in the 18th century by his Prime Minister ancestor, the 1st Marquess, who employed the celebrated architect Robert Adam to create an orangery, menagerie and mausoleum. The following century saw the arrival of the pinetum and arboretum, Capability Brown landscapes, pleasure grounds and Doric temple.
The present Lord Lansdowne created the four-acre Jubilee Garden. He says: ‘Few accolades could be more rewarding for us. To know that it has been adjudicated by our visiting public says it all. Bowood continues to evolve, each generation leaving its legacy-it gives pleasure to thousands and employment to many.' The gardens reopen on April 1 (01249 812102; www.bowood.org).
* Subscribe to Country Life and save
* Follow Country Life magazine on Twitter
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
-
How many puppies in the average litter? Country Life Quiz of the Day
Plus a 1960s house, Hollywood's most famous cavewoman and more in Friday's quiz.
By Toby Keel Published
-
Love, sex and death: Our near-universal obsession with the rose
No flower is more entwined with myth, religion, politics and the human form than the humble rose — and now there's a new coffee table book celebrating them in all of their glory.
By Amy de la Haye Last updated