Discover Summer in The Secret Gardens

Not all of us are fortunate to have expansive gardens in which to watch the seasons come and go.

Then again, after a hard day at the office, we’re more likely to want to put our feet up and relax, rather than spend hours toiling over flower beds, weeding and feeding – and cutting huge swathes of lawn!

Thankfully, the South East is blessed with an array of gardens we can enjoy all year round – and let someone else do all the work.

If you’re wanting a family away-day from the World Cup or an escape from the town to the country, you can’t do better than head for the coast – and The Secret Gardens of Sandwich.

A picturesque two hours by train from London, Sandwich, with its narrow, winding streets, is a world apart from the City and still relatively unknown to the tourist masses.

Once the major port in England but now two miles from the sea, Sandwich is arguably one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the UK.

Within the old town walls the many period houses, with their characteristic Kent ‘peg tile’ roofs, are laid out in a street plan which has changed little since the creation of the Domesday book in 1086.

Now, one of East Kent’s top tourist attractions, The Secret Gardens of Sandwich form the highlight of any visit to this meandering, historic port.

These delightful gardens, created at the turn of the century by Gertrude Jekyll to complement Lutyens’ stunning Edwardian manor house, The Salutation, had lain neglected until five years ago when taken over by the present owners.

Steel entrepreneur Dominic Parker, his ebullient wife Stephanie and a team of eight gardeners have since transformed the wasteland into a veritable oasis of sights and scents at the heart of this quaint corner of Kent.

From the rare and unusual species in the Tropical Border, carefully sourced from remote regions around the world, to the typical English cottage garden scenes in The White Garden and on Lake Patricia’s expansive green meadows, The Secret Gardens of Sandwich are a delight to the senses at every twist and turn.

In Springtime, a plethora of tiny bulbs pop their heads through the hardened earth, but by Summer, the newly-augmented rose beds and herbaceous borders are really coming into their own.

The productive vegetable garden was once no more than a pile of rubble and the Holm Oak Walk was totally shapeless and overgrown.

In five years, the gardens have undergone a complete metamorphosis and, whilst the spirit and style of the original garden remains, a number of more modern features have been added to create a fascinating attraction for both the keen gardener and the enthusiastic amateur.

Jekyll believed that a garden should offer unexpected views and visual surprises and should be made up of many “rooms” – each with its own character. Consequently, visitors gain new and surprising experiences as they twist and turn their way through
the tree-lined walkways and shady glades.

The beautiful ‘bowling green’ lawn is now pretty much how she and Lutyens would have imagined it, while the new Tropical Border, with the incredibly rare Wollemi Pine, which dates back to the Jurassic period, the Persian Ironwood and the Indian Bean Tree, would have been beyond the duo’s wildest dreams.

Lake Patricia was created during the seventies and has an island which has been turned into a meadow. Accessed by a small bridge, this is a remarkably tranquil place to sit and meditate on the beautiful surroundings.

The Gardens, which extend to 3.5 acres, also include a stunning Yellow Garden and Rose Garden, as well as a kitchen garden and woodland garden, while the breathtaking White Garden, with its abundance of white, cream and silver foliage plants leaves a lasting, calming memory at the end of a rich and varied garden tour in which your senses are quite overwhelmed!

The garden operates entirely on organic principles and is a fine example of how healthy your plants can be without chemical intervention.

To round off your visit, there is a delightful Tea Room selling delicious home-made cakes and cream teas – including the popular Chocolate Cream Tea – and a recently-opened gift shop, selling exclusive and unusual pieces.

There have been times in the past five years that Dominic and Stephanie have questioned the wisdom of their undertaking – such as when, having spent several weeks re-lining the lake with the traditional clay dug from the garden, they found it had to be completely re-done with a composite after it drained almost immediately!

However, looking out from the terrace of what is the family home as well as a thriving business, they have to admit: “It’s not bad for a back garden.”

The Gardens are open seven days a week, throughout the year and visitors can always be assured of a warm welcome. For further information telephone 01304 619919.

© Jane Shotliff 2010