• Donate
  • View Cart
  • My Account
  • Members’ Area
    • Publications
      • Royal Oak News
      • Magazine Discounts
    • Travel
      • Heritage Circle Tours
      • Britain Tours 2023
      • Other International Trips
      • Hotels and Accommodation
      • National Trust Rentals
      • Royal Over-Seas League
      • In and Around London Map
  • Programs & Events
    • Spring 2023 Lectures and Tours
    • Winter 2023 Lectures and Tours
    • Fall 2022 Lectures and Tours
    • 2022 Annual Benefit
    • Past Annual Benefits
  • Impact
    • 2023 Campaign
    • Royal Oak Conservation Studio
    • Recent Campaigns
    • 2021 Grants
    • The Nigel Seeley Fellowship
    • The Damaris Horan Fellowship
  • Stories
    • Houses & Buildings
    • Gardens & Parklands
    • Art & Furniture
    • Nature & Wildlife
    • Cooking & Traditions
    • Families & People
    • Events & Galas
    • News & Announcements
  • About Us
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Press
    • FAQ
    • About The National Trust
  • Support Us
    • 2023 Campaign
    • Membership
    • Heritage Circle
    • 2023 Annual Fund
    • Lecture Support
    • Legacy Circle
    • Partners
    • Ways to Give

The Royal Oak Foundation

  • Donate
  • Buy a Membership
  • View Cart
  • My Account
  • Members’ Area
    • Publications
      • Royal Oak News
      • Magazine Discounts
    • Travel
      • Heritage Circle Tours
      • Britain Tours 2023
      • Other International Trips
      • Hotels and Accommodation
      • National Trust Rentals
      • Royal Over-Seas League
      • In and Around London Map
  • Programs & Events
    • Spring 2023 Lectures and Tours
    • Winter 2023 Lectures and Tours
    • Fall 2022 Lectures and Tours
    • 2022 Annual Benefit
    • Past Annual Benefits
  • Impact
    • 2023 Campaign
    • Royal Oak Conservation Studio
    • Recent Campaigns
    • 2021 Grants
    • The Nigel Seeley Fellowship
    • The Damaris Horan Fellowship
  • Stories
    • Houses & Buildings
    • Gardens & Parklands
    • Art & Furniture
    • Nature & Wildlife
    • Cooking & Traditions
    • Families & People
    • Events & Galas
    • News & Announcements
  • About Us
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Press
    • FAQ
    • About The National Trust
  • Support Us
    • 2023 Campaign
    • Membership
    • Heritage Circle
    • 2023 Annual Fund
    • Lecture Support
    • Legacy Circle
    • Partners
    • Ways to Give

Stories

Anne and Johnny Chambers Discuss their Garden at Kiftsgate

May 4, 2020

In the fall of 2019, Royal Oak sat down with Anne and Johnny Chambers to discuss their garden in the Cotswolds, Kiftsgate Court Garden. As the garden writer Robin Lane Fox wrote about Kiftsgate “there is nowhere else in Britain that has such a family tradition of planting and dedication.

Three Generations of Women Gardeners

Perched on the edge of the Cotswold Hills, Kiftsgate Court is a family home and garden that has been loved and cultivated by the same family for over 100 years. Three generations of women gardeners have left their mark, each building on the legacy of the previous owner.

When Jack and Heather Muir bought the Grecian-fronted Victorian house in 1919, Heather, without any horticultural training, started to layout the Kiftsgate garden straight away. Instead of a lawn, she planted semi-formal beds of roses and other flowers, a tapestry hedge with a mix of beech, yew and plain and variegated holly, and a rose border full of unusual varieties.

Heather’s horticultural aesthetic favored the Arts & Crafts Movement which emphasized perennials and plants chosen for their adaptability, including drought-tolerant cistus, spiky agaves and other Mediterranean-style plantings. She was encouraged by her friend and next-door neighbor at Hidcote, Lawrence Johnston, and other notable garden designers including Norah Lindsay and Vita Sackville-West—who planted the enormous and famous Kiftsgate Rose (Rosa filipes) at Sissinghurst.

Heather’s daughter, Diany Binny continued the family gardening tradition during the 1950s and quickly became an accomplished plantswoman. She extended the planting, creating paths and replanting more borders with shrubs and herbaceous plants and re-fashioned the White Sunk Garden with a pool and fountain.

Since the late 1980s, her daughter Anne Chambers and her husband Johnny have brought the garden into the 21st century. They introduced plants that flower year-round and are suited to warmer winters. They also created a new Water Garden with a sculpture by Simon Allison, a woodland with plants from the Scilly Isles, an avenue of tulip trees, and an orchard among other features.

Share this...
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
Linkedin
Post navigation
Previous StoryNext Story

Search the Blog

Filter by Category

  • Houses & Buildings
  • Gardens & Parklands
  • Art & Furniture
  • Nature & Wildlife
  • Cooking & Traditions
  • Families & People
  • Travel & Tours
  • Events & Galas
  • News & Announcements
  • Membership
  • 2023 Annual Fund
  • Heritage Circle
  • Legacy Circle
  • Royal Oak Lecture Support
  • Ways to Give
  • Partners
  • Restoring Bath Assembly Rooms
  • Royal Oak Conservation Studio
  • About Us
  • Board of Directors
  • Staff
  • About The National Trust
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

general@royal-oak.org
lectures@royal-oak.org
T: 212.480.2889 | 800.913.6565
F: 212.764.7234

Copyright © 2023 The Royal Oak Foundation. All rights reserved.
20 W 44th Street, Suite 606, New York, New York 10036-6603

This website uses analytical and tracking cookies to improve your user experience and for statistical purposes. By continuing to browse on this website, you agree to the use of such cookies.