Discover more at Hinton Ampner
Find out when Hinton Ampner is open, how to get here, the things to see and do and more.
The garden at Hinton Ampner
- Published:
- 12 June 2026
The gardens at Hinton Ampner are a delight for the senses and a haven for wildlife. Changing with the seasons, there is always something to delight and inspire.
Events in the garden
Volunteer led guided garden tours
Join our volunteers for a tour of the garden gaining insight into different plants and garden history throughout the season. We also hold monthly garden tours led by one of our gardeners - check our events page for the latest dates and times.
Gardener's Garden tour
Take a tour around the gardens with an expert. On the tour you will look at what's blooming in the garden and get some top tips to take home with you for your own garden. Running on the first Thursday of each month.
Free garden tours
Join our volunteers for a tour of the garden gaining insight into different plants and garden history throughout the season. We also hold monthly garden tours led by one of our gardeners - check our events page for the latest dates and times.
Winter in the garden
The garden is well known for its formal design, with neat hedges, topiary and beautiful specimen trees. As winter arrives, the shaped yew, box and holly take on a different character among the tall trunks and branches of beech, maple, oak and lime trees. Low winter sunshine casts striking shadows across the garden, while frosty mornings make leaves and plants sparkle.
In the borders, ornamental grasses and perennial stems topped with seedheads add interest throughout the season. Maiden hair grass, Miscanthus ‘Malepartus’, grows gracefully to six or seven feet tall, with fluffy flower heads that gradually turn silver and develop a soft, feathery appearance over winter. Bright ruby-red stems of Cornus and the brilliant white stems of Rubus create a dramatic display in the walled garden. In the sheltered glasshouses, potted flowers and bulbs are brought onto display benches where their delicate beauty can be enjoyed. Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill' and witch hazel varieties fill the late winter air with unexpected scent, while drifts of hellebores, winter aconites and snowdrops bring welcome colour to the quiet woodland borders.
Please note that from November to April, many of the ornamental lawns and grass paths are closed, particularly in the southern areas of the garden. Wet weather can cause waterlogging, making paths and steps slippery and unsafe. It can also compact the soil, which can damage the roots of trees and shrubs. The welcome team at visitor reception will be happy to advise which areas are open during your visit.
The Walled Garden
A conventional country estate walled kitchen garden, it is laid out traditionally with cruciform pathways, vegetable beds, herbaceous and shrub borders.
Dating back to the original Tudor house, it is thought that the walled garden could have originally been the hop garden. At approximately one-and-a-half acres in size, it lies to the north of the house and greets visitors as they come in the main entrance.
The Glasshouse
The glasshouse is located within the walled garden and looks out across the kitchen garden. The temperature in the glasshouse is steady and warm as it benefits from the warmth held within the bricks forming its back wall. The garden team and garden volunteers maintain an ever changing display of exotic houseplants, all arranged upon a shelf at waist level. The raised level of the plants makes for an ideal vantage point to spot all the details and beauty of the shapes, scents and forms of the plants being grown.
The Orchard
The orchard is located on the site of the old Tudor house. Edged by low, clipped box hedges it is home to several varieties of flowering cherries and fruit trees. Cleverly designed with a symmetrical layout, it’s carpeted with hundreds of bright yellow daffodils in the spring.
The grass in the orchard is left to grow naturally throughout the spring and summer to provide a habitat for wildlife. The pathways align with the gateway to the kitchen garden. Discover a corner of peace and seclusion on the bench set obliquely against the backdrop of the church tower.
The lily pool
To the east of the house, the rectangular lily pond sits flanked by a pair of recumbent sphinxes leading up to the drawing room windows, framed by pink cherry blossom in the spring and fragrant pale pink rose borders in the summer. At the opposite end, a bench provides the perfectly shaded retreat for quiet contemplation throughout the seasons.
The formal garden
The formal parterres to the south of the house comprise a beautifully maintained lawn and several attractive borders edging the pathway in front of the house. They bloom with many different varieties of flowers throughout the year, from heavenly scented pink lilac and unusual tulip varieties in the spring, to huge red poppies and diverse herbaceous borders in the summer. Benches along the stone walkway provide the perfect vantage point to admire the breathtaking views out across the South Downs.
A stone balustrade adorned with climbing roses and honeysuckle separates the formal garden and the elegant stone steps down to the Sunken Garden. To the western end of the terrace lawn a stone nymph is framed by a branch of a large horse chestnut and set against a background of parkland and wide-open sky.
The Sunken Garden
The Sunken Garden sits below the front lawn to the south of the house, with far-reaching views over the South Downs. Created in 1934, the centre is laid out with four rectangular beds that change with the seasons.
The long walk
The long walk, over 200 yards in length, is a grass path running below the south terrace, passing through the centre of the sunken garden and through to the old tennis courts. This formal walkway features masterfully shaped and maintained Irish yew hedges on either side of the path.
Tennis court and Temple
One of the oldest features of the garden, the tennis court is one of the more remote areas of the garden, providing a large tranquil expanse of lawn.
The elegant temple, built around 1939, features a porphyry bust of Poppaea (wife of Nero) on a column. Tucked away in skilfully planted shrubberies, it provides the perfect place to sit and admire the view south onto to the parkland and lime avenue.
The Dell
Originally an old chalk pit, the Dell is a hidden and unexpected feature of the garden. Planted with evergreen shrubs around the top and enclosed with box hedges to create a serpentine walk down to its centre, the Dell has a wonderfully luxuriant, tropical feel to it. Sheltered by a canopy of ash and lime trees, it provides a quiet, shady and meditative space for moments of reflection.
The North Drive
Comprising a variety of evergreen trees and shrubs, the North Drive creates a strong contrast to the open pasture and scattered trees of the parkland beyond with a magnificent yew hedge artfully clipped into a lively abstract pattern.
At the north end of the vista, a stone urn sits regally overlooking the site of the Battle of Cheriton, framing the old brick ha-ha and views of the parkland. The southern half of the drive curves elegantly round to reveal the view towards the front of the house.
Silent Space
Silent Space is a charity that encourages gardens open to the public to reserve an area where visitors can take time to reflect quietly and to enjoy the beauty of the garden and the sounds of nature without distractions.
Hinton Ampner’s garden is all about tranquillity but we also have a dedicated area in The Dell for quiet contemplation. The area is marked on our visitor maps or do ask a member of the team for directions.
For more information on Silent Space, visit the website:
https://silentspace.org.uk
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