designated Grade I in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens by Historic England. They were designed during the early part of the 20th century by the garden architect Harold Peto. He lived at Iford from 1899 until his death in 1933 during which time he built up an extensive collection of antiquities and artefacts, brought back from his travels abroad. His great love of the Italian garden style is plainly evident at Iford, where flowers occupy a subordinate place amongst the more structural elements of cypress, statuary, hedges, water features and broad walks. According to Country Life, Peto was searching for a country home that would lend itself to a great garden design. When he found the Palladian villa in Wiltshire, "it was evocative of his favourite... the Villa Giusti at Verona. ... He avoided unnecessary change to the garden, preferring instead to develop the inherent character, the natural beauty and the historic atmosphere". A number of plants of particular interest can be found at Iford: standard Wisteria sinensis blossoms across much of the front of the house and up flights of steps linking the terraces (particularly good in late May); Phillyrea latifolia; Buxus sempervirens grows in wild tree form in the woods above the house and is extensively used in the gardens as a structural plant; Cupressus sempervirens; Hemerocallis citrina, the scented daylily; the naturalised Martagon lily. In addition to his planting and structural work, Peto created a number of architectural garden features, which remain well preserved. Behind the manor house, to which he added a loggia, terraces lead up to the main lawn. Alongside the lawn he built a lily pool, a colonnade-lined Great Terrace, and the Cloisters, a Grade II* listed Italianate courtyard surrounded by an arcade, which was his "Haunt of Ancient Peace" where he displayed many of his treasures. Higher up the hillside, he built more terraces with retaining walls, and a pavilion called the Casita. Thought lost after the war, the present owners since 1965, the Cartwright-Hignett family, have restored the garden and the various structures therein, initially assisted by Lanning Roper. John Hignett has extended the garden, including the creation of a Japanese Garden. The owners appointed Troy Scott Smith in 2019, previously Head Gardener of Sissinghurst, Bodnant and The Courts, to help replant and expand the garden further. Iford Manor was the recipient of the Historic Houses Association/Christie's Garden of