Roses in Kent

Not for nothing is our county called ’The Garden of England’ with so many public and private gardens opening their gates throughout summer for visitors to wander at leisure, admiring, coveting and garnering ideas for their own gardens.

Roses are one of the most evocative flowers, equally delightful when viewed en masse from a distance or up close as a single, flower-laden plant. With countless varieties - old and new, single and double petalled, on its own or as a companion plant, bush, shrub, rambling or climbing, richly scented or subtly fragranced – there is a rose for every situation.

Here in Kent, many of the larger gardens feature roses either in special rose gardens, or as part of set-piece plantings. We’ve selected a few gardens open to the public where this much-loved flower is the glory of the garden in June.

Roses on view

Penshurst Place, Penshurst

There are hundreds of varieties of roses around the Italian Garden at Penshurst Place, in the Union Flag Garden and in the stunning Rose Garden at this glorious stately home.

The Tall Story, standing against the Baron’s Hall and underplanted with lavender, is possibly one of the best of all the glorious roses at Penshurst Place. In bud, Tall Story is a lovely shade of yellow, then as it matures, it becomes creamier and creamier, paler and paler until it is almost pure white.

Tel: 01892 870307

Grounds and garden open daily 10.30am-6pm until 2 Nov, house open 12noon-4pm.

Hole Park Gardens, Rolvenden

These privately owned, 15-acre gardens have been created by four generations of the same family and are a delightful mix of formal and informal planting. Pictured is Paul’s Himalayan musk rose (seen with Clematis Perl d’Azur), a lovely rambler with virtually thornless clusters of small double-petalled flowers.

Other roses of note include white and pink roses in the Millennium Garden and the Wedding Day rose over the pergola and roses on every pillar in the vineyard, as well as species, shrub and climbing roses throughout the gardens.

Tel: 01580 241344.

Open Wed and Thu, 2pm-6pm to end Oct, and Sun 2pm-6pm in Jun and Oct.

Scotney Castle, Lamberhurst

Designed in the Picturesque style and famous for its ruined castle, this National Trust property has extensive attractive gardens. Roses scramble over the ruins, creating even more photo opportunities of the stunning, picturesque Castle.

Tel: 01892 893820

Open Wed to Sun inclusive, 11am – 6.30pm until 2 Nov.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Sissinghurst

The Rose Garden is one of the best loved parts of Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst. The centre circular lawn and hedge was designed by Harold Nicholson, Vita’s husband. But roses feature throughout: it was the rose Madame Alfred Carriere that was the first plant that Vita found a home for, still covering the South Cottage with its soft pink blooms. The world-renowned White Garden’s crowning glory is its central white rose Rosa mulliganii, and elsewhere the single-petalled, soft peach Mrs Oakley Fisher unites with its underplanted mauves and purples to imitate the Persian carpets that caught Vita’s eye in Tehran.

Tel: 01580 710701.

Open Frid to Tue inclusive, 11am – 6.30pm until 2 Nov.

Marle Place Gardens, Brenchley

Roses are a passion at Marle Place and they are everywhere: in the borders, up walls and trees and along woodland edges. Some are over 20 years old, making mounds of flowering thicket up to 4m high, including pink-flowered and apple-scented Amy Robsart, pale pink Complicata and Cerise Bouquet.

Madame Isaac Pereire is pruned each year to form a cascading fountain of fragrant blooms, an arresting feature at the apex of a double beech hedge. In the kitchen garden, there is a formal set of raised beds each planted with colour-matched bush roses, all chosen for their superb scent.

The old brick wall that backs the herbaceous border is closely planted with climbing roses such as Summer Wine, Meg and Maigold.

Tel: 01892 722304

Open Frid to Mon inclusive, 10am-5pm until 29 Sep.

Hever Castle & Gardens, Hever, Edenbridge

The annual Rose Week, from 20 to 26 June, this year expresses the decadence of the Edwardian period as it celebrates the 100th anniversary of William Waldorf Astor’s restoration of the castle and gardens (see also page xxx).

The castle will be adorned with displays of fragrant summer flowers and roses in the opulent style of the Edwardian era. The Tudor Garden will be billowing with Rosa Ballerina, the velvet petals of Rosa Deep Secret at Half Moon Pond, while inside the walled Rose Garden the evocative scents of Champagne Cocktail, Belle Epoque and Buxom Beauty fill the air. The Rose Bank on Two Sisters’ Lawn is a delight with the musky fragrance of the Gallica, Bourbon, Moss and Damask roses.

Tel: 01732 865224

Open daily 10.45am – 6pm until 31 Oct, Thu to Sun during Nov.

Godinton House & Gardens, near Ashford

At Godinton, 12 acres, originally designed by Reginald Blomfield and with a magnificent yew hedge, include a classically romantic rose garden with a combination of 120 roses of 25 varieties, including Gallica and Damask and other old roses combined with China, Bourbon and modern varieties. Roses also clamber over steps, climb walls and ornament borders throughout the garden.

Tel: 01233 643854

Gardens open Thur to Mon, 2pm-5.30pm until 27 Oct, house open Fri to Sun until 5 Oct.

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