Tidying the 300-year-old, 40ft-tall, 150ft-wide hedge is a two-man job that takes 12 days.
The clippings – this year amounting to nearly a ton – are used to produce a life-saving cancer drug called taxol.
You can visit and see for yourself – the public are welcome every day of the year at the estate and entry is free.
There are even holiday cottages on the property if you fancy a longer stay. And if you book a week in early September, chances are you'll see the hedge-cutting for yourself.
Why you should trim your hedge this weekend
Is now the time for a short back and sides?
Hedgelaying: getting started
We tell you how to get started in the fascinating art of hedgelaying
How to plant a hedge
Alan Titchmarsh talks about the wonders of hedges.
Top tips for topiary
Topiary lifts seasonal gloom and gives the garden a clean, solid framework.
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An elegant country house that comes with 63 gloriously unspoilt acres of Devon, and 400 fascinating years of historyPenny Churchill takes a look at the beautiful Hudscott Manor.
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The flat Mick Jagger shared with Keith Richards, and more Chelsea-themed fun: Country Life Quiz of the Day, May 21, 2025The Rolling Stones lived in squalor in the days when Chelsea was rougher around the edges — find out how much they paid for the privilege, and how much they'd need today
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Five best things to see in the Grand Pavilion at the Chelsea Flower ShowThe show gardens often grab the headlines, but the Great Pavilion at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is always full of wonders. Country Life's gardens editor Tiffant Daneff picks out five of her favourite things from inside the marquee at the world's greatest flower show.
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'It's perfect': The lush and charming RHS Garden of the Year at Chelsea Flower Show 2025Kazuyuki Ishihara's 'Cha No Niwa – Japanese Tea Garden' has won the coveted RHS Chelsea Garden of the Year, the top award at the Chelsea Flower Show. And it's a worthy winner.
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See all the medallists from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025The RHS's expert judges have spoken — these are all the winners from this year's Chelsea Flower Show. Photographs by Andrew Sydenham for Country Life.
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Monty Don's dog, The King's new rose and the 'perfect' garden: What not to miss at the Chelsea Flower Show 2025Country Life's gardens editor Tiffany Daneff shares her favourite flowers, gardens, clever ideas and nicest surprises from the 2025 Chelsea Flower Show.
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Chelsea Flower Show 2025: Welcome to Country Life's 'Outdoor Drawing Room'The 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens today and with it Country Life's first stand in a quarter of a century.
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Hampnett House: A Gloucestershire garden where an empty, squelchy lawn has been replaced by 'gorgeous flowery generosity'What to do if you inherit a garden that isn’t your style? Tiffany Daneff visits the garden at Hampnett House, Gloucestershire — home of Mr Sanjeev Shah and Ms Mansi Amin — and finds a space that has undergone a major transformation, from high-concept minimalism to flower-filled paradise. Photographs by Britt Willoughby Dyer.
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'Nowadays, you can barely throw a heavy brick without it hitting a garden designer’: The renaissance of the country gardenTiffany Daneff looks at how the English country house garden has been rescued from its thorny slumbers over the last 50 years.
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Chelsea Flower Show 2025: Ten things not to miss in what promises to be a superb year at the world's greatest horticultural showIt promises to be a stellar year at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Kathryn Bradley-Hole previews some of the highlights you can expect, while we take a look ahead to what Country Life will be up to during the week.
