Belonging in the Landscape: The Spirit of Holehird

A Garden in the Hills

There are few gardens with a setting as dramatic as Holehird. High above Windermere, the land falls away to the lake, and beyond it the fells rise in layers, blue-grey in the shifting light. Even before you look at the planting, the view itself feels like part of the garden. I’ve visited many times and it remains one of my favourite gardens; no matter what day it is, it always seems as if the sky is part of the scenery too: one moment bathing the slopes in sunlight, the next softening them into shadow. It is a reminder that here in the Lake District, weather and landscape are always part of the scene.

From Victorian Estate to Volunteer Garden

Holehird began life as the grounds of a Victorian estate. Colonel Gandy, a wealthy industrialist, built the house in the late 19th century and laid out gardens around it. Like many such estates, it declined during the 20th century, until in 1969 the Lakeland Horticultural Society took it on as their home.

That decision shaped Holehird into what it is today: a garden run entirely by volunteers, supported by the knowledge and enthusiasm of gardeners who give their time freely. There is something deeply fitting about that in the Lake District — a landscape long shaped by both grand owners and ordinary people.

Collections and Planting

Holehird is now renowned for its plant collections. The Lakeland Horticultural Society holds National Collections of polystichum ferns and astilbes. Hydrangeas have long been a centrepiece in summer displays: the garden once held a National Collection (from 1989), but after losses in extreme weather the status was relinquished in 2012. What remains is a Lakeland Collection of hydrangeas, carefully chosen for their resilience and colour in Cumbria’s damp, northern climate.

The borders are generous and varied, with herbaceous planting that softens the strong lines of the stone walls and terraces. Rock gardens climb the slope, woodland areas provide shade and contrast, and everywhere the planting feels chosen with care for this particular setting. Gardening in Cumbria means gardening with rain, with wind, with short summers and long winters — and yet here the plants seem to flourish, perhaps because they are chosen with such understanding of place.

A Garden with a View

What strikes me most at Holehird is the way the garden and the landscape belong together. In many gardens, hedges or walls enclose the space and shut out the wider world. At Holehird, the wider world is always part of the design. A path frames a glimpse of Windermere; a border leads the eye towards the Langdales; a terrace opens to the sweep of the fells. The planting is beautiful in itself, but it is always in dialogue with the view.

The Spirit of Volunteers

Knowing that Holehird is maintained entirely by volunteers adds another layer. There is pride here, but no pretension (although possibly a little healthy competition!) You sense that every plant has been placed, tended, and understood by people who care for it deeply. There is no grand house to overshadow the garden; the house today is used as a Leonard Cheshire home, and the gardens feel like the true spirit of the place. Many of the volunteers have their own beautiful gardens which they show under the National Gardens Scheme and have been generous enough to allow me to visit as part of a tour.

Reflection

Holehird may not have the fame of Sissinghurst or Hidcote, but it has something just as special — a sense of belonging. It is a garden of collections, of views, of seasons, and of community. And in its way, it tells the story of the Lake District itself: beauty shaped by nature, sustained by care, and always at the mercy of the skies.