A Garden Walk

A walk round the garden can be conveniently started on the Church Lawn named by the fact that the high wall abutting the churchyard gives a warm south facing aspect for the growing of the more tender and shelter-loving plants including buddleja auriculata, magnolia delavayi, and climbers such as dregea (wattakaka) sinensis. The wide border at the base of the wall is planted with dwarf and slow-growing shrubs and many varieties of hardy geranium.

Crossing the main drive one comes to the Walnut Tree Lawn named after the old walnut tree which experts say has been there since about 1400. Other trees have been planted in the area including various magnolia, cryptomeria and drimys.

A walk through a small Shade Garden, which includes malus halliana and eriobotrya japonica, lead to the Rose Garden with a large lime tree as a central focal point. This special place has been developed into a dedicated rose garden, with borders full of many varieties of specie, shrub, hybrid musk, hybrid tea and floribunda roses edged with lavender, and backed with fine yew hedges.

Above the south end of the rose garden lies the Evergreen Area, a place of peaceful green, camelia, pine, nothofagus and evergreen oaks, a quiet and sheltered spot.

To the south of this area lies the large Herbaceous Garden planted in 1996 and extended in 1998. The beds are in island bed design, giving a chance to wander among the plants rather than look along a straight edge. A special feature in late summer and autumn is the variety of ornamental grasses. A climbing rose and clematis walkway leads to a young specialist China Rose Garden started in 2001.

Trees of unusual bark, leaf, and stem colour are planted in many parts of the gardens. Of special note is the Acer Lawn accessed from the Herbaceous garden which has a collection of acers from Japan, America, China and Europe. These are planted in a lawn area which gives the chance to walk in and around the trees to see the snakebarks and different leaf forms of the fine acer varieties.

An Avenue of Carpinus Fastigiata opens to a beautiful view of the river valley and the Kent countryside. To the left are the large Island Beds which contain many varied and unusual trees and shrubs (e.g. sophora tetraptera, salix magnifica, cercis forest pansy, interesting collection of berberis), and give colour and interest all year round. The Steep Bank below the Island Beds hosts many varieties of sorbus and shrubs to one side and bamboo and grasses to the other.

From a central point to the north of the Islands Beds there is a fine view of Nettlestead Place reflected in the Sunken Pond. One can walk along above the pond towards the house on whose southern wall is a fine magnolia grandiflora. A short flight of steps leads down to the pond, fed by a vigorous spring, and its surrounding garden which has diverse plantings which include primula, lobelia, hosta, salix and large phormiums.

On the east side of the house are Terraces of alpines, dwarf spring bulbs and slow growing shrubs on gravel. With the lower lawn planted with daffodils this is a wonderful spring time area. Walking on downwards towards the river one finds a steep valley area with two streams running through giving a boggy bottom where conditions are suitable for primula, hosta and astilbe. Further up the banks are dwarf pines, mountain salix, meconopsis, ferns, shade loving hardy geraniums, epimedium and heathers. This quiet shady area is known as the Glen Garden. Beyond the Glen Garden lies an undulating grass field planted in 1997/98 as a Pinetum with varieties of abies, pinus, picea and larix which will eventually give a fine natural backdrop to the Glen Garden.