Future Events

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Humphry Repton at Vinters Park – 18th May 2021 at 11:00

Location: Entrance to Vinters Park in Lodge Lane which is off New Cut, Grove Green, Maidstone. ME14 5EH. Lodge Lane is a cul-de-sac where it is possible to park.

Cost: £15.00

Book online. There are currently 3 places available for this event.

This is an opportunity to explore the grounds of Vinters Park with KGT trustee Tom La Dell. Although the house has been pulled down, there is still terracing to see. The ice house, the lake and the barrel bridge remain, as well as a marvellous avenue of 18C lime trees.
Maidstone was famous for its paper making and it was the Whatman family at Turkey Mill who achieved international renown. Many of Humphry Repton’s famous Red Books were produced on Whatman paper.
In 1783 James Whatman bought Vinters Park adjoining Turkey Mill to the north. He set about rebuilding the house and creating parkland to reflect his new status. Humphry Repton visited Vinters in 1797 and duly presented his Red Book. Sadly James died the following year and it took two further generations of James Whatmans to create a landscape that would meet with Repton’s approval. Now a wildlife park, the main features of the Repton landscape can still be traced by a network of paths which are fine but some are a bit steep and have steps. Stout footwear is advisable.

KGT contact: tom@tomladell.co.uk

Leonardslee Gardens – 27th May 2021 at 10:30

Location: Leonardslee, Brighton Road, Lower Beeding, RH13 6PP

Cost: £35.00, Members £30.00 (to include coffee and garden tour. (Lunch is available in the café at Leonardslee))

This event is fully booked, but you may register on the waiting list in case places become available.There is noone on the waiting list for this event at the moment.

Leonardslee is generally recognised as one of the country’s great woodland gardens. The garden was first established in 1801 following the landscape and planting ideas of Sir Uvedale Price, who, with Richard Payne Knight and William Gilpin, were key proponents of the Picturesque Movement - one of whose beliefs was that gardens should resemble landscape paintings.
Leonardslee has benefitted from a succession of sympathetic owners, notably the Loder family, with Edmund buying the property in 1888, and not only planting a wide range of rhododendrons and exotic conifers, but also introducing a number of exotic animals, including the wallabies still seen today. The Loder family sold the estate in 2010, and after 8 years of closure, the new owner, Penny Streeter, facilitated the re-opening of both house and garden last year.
Our visit is timed to catch the garden at its peak, and we are also fortunate to have secured a private tour with Stephen Herrington, the new Head Gardener.

Please note that we have NOT arranged a second garden visit for the afternoon on this occasion – the gardens at Leonardslee themselves are substantial and people may well want to spend more time exploring the outer reaches; alternatively, the magnificent gardens of High Beeches and Nymans(NT), and Wakehurst (NT) are close by.

KGT contact Richard Stileman richstileman@btinternet.com 07968787950

The Abbey Physic Garden, Faversham and Norton Court, Teynham – 10th June 2021 at 10:30

Location: The Physic Garden (Parking at Tesco's), Faversham, then at Norton Court, Teynham (ME9 8JU)

Cost: £40.00, Members £35.00 (Lunch is not included)

Book online. There is currently 1 place available for this event.

A day of sharply contrasting gardens! We start in historic Faversham and visit this very successful and relatively new physic garden, though please note that in this case ‘physic’ means a garden providing creative activity, comfort and companionship for the local community, including those with mental health issues. It is NOT a garden full of medicinal plants! One of the Trustees will explain the origin and mission of the garden, and how they coped in 2020, and Garden Manager, Suzanne Campbell will outline the garden itself.
After lunch in Faversham, we travel the short distance to Teynham and Norton Court, a house with a Domesday record belonging at one time to Bishop Odo, half-brother of William the Conqueror. A severe fire in 1965 necessitated major restoration, though the elegant simplicity of a traditional Kentish farmouse is still evident in the SW front. Although Sir Reginald Blomfield is thought to have been involved with the garden in the early 20th C, the garden we see today is largely the product of 25 years of devoted work by owners Sophia and Tim Steel. There are 10 acres within a parkland setting, including mature trees, topiary, wide lawns and clipped hedges. An orchard with paths through wild flowers leads to a walled garden with mixed borders and roses. There is a nuttery and recently planted wildflower area.

KGT contact Richard Stileman richstileman@btinternet.com 07968787950

Tenterden Gems - Reighton Wood, and Old Place Farm – 15th June 2021 at 10:30

Location: Reighton Wood, TN30 6UY, before travelling to Old Place Farm, High Halden (TN26 3JG) for 2.30

Cost: £40.00, Members £35.00 (Lunch is not included)

This event is fully booked, but you may register on the waiting list in case places become available.There are currently 5 people on the waiting list for this event.

Reighton Wood is a much lauded new garden designed by Marian Boswall. It’s a brilliant example of what can happen when owner, architect and garden designer work in harmony to transform a house and its garden in a promising setting to connect both with each other, and with the stunning landscape. Starting with little more than a field and overgrown pond, Marian has transformed the space into a garden filled with abundantly planted borders of dense grasses and herbaceous perennials, planted in drifts to echo the rolling countryside. Marian (who won last year’s Grand Award from the Society of Garden Designers for this project) will be our guide.

Old Place Farm is a stunning 4 acre garden in nearby High Halden, developed over the last 50 years by discerning owners Ann and Jeffrey Eker. Originally designed by Anthony du Gard Pasley (who was Ann’s principal lecturer at the Inchbald School of Garden Design), the garden surrounds a period farmhouse, and embraces topiary, a potager, parterre, a lake, ponds, and
numerous mixed borders. Ann has more recently developed an intriguing woodland topiary garden inspired by the extraordinary structures at Sericourt in Northern France. The whole garden is elegant and immaculate.

KGT contact: Richard Stileman richstileman@btinternet.com 07968787950

Reighton Wood

Old Place Farm

Balmoral Cottage, Benenden – 6th July 2021 at 10:30

Location: Park close to the church and walk 100 yards down the lane to the west of the church (TN17 4DL)

Cost: £18.00, Members £15.00 (Lunch is not included)

This event is fully booked, but you may register on the waiting list in case places become available.There are currently 3 people on the waiting list for this event.

Balmoral Cottage, Benenden
Here is another chance to make a private visit to Charlotte and Donald Molesworth's unique creation. Marvellously imaginative topiary characterises this atmospheric space of just one acre, crammed with planting surprises at every turn, and vistas leading to secret spaces round every corner. Balmoral is also a classic example of the value of recycling, and a haven for bird and insect life, as well as small mammals. Charlotte and Donald will be on hand to explain how in 30 years of inspiration and energy you can create a mini-masterpiece!

Balmoral was once the kitchen garden for 'Cherry' Ingram's garden at The Grange. Lunch can be had at The Bull (walking distance). This is not included in the price.

KGT contact: Richard Stileman richstileman@btinternet.com 07968787950

GARDEN PARTY – 31st July 2021 at 15:30

Location: HOLE PARK, Rolvenden TN17 4JA

Cost: £10.00

Book online. There are currently 68 places available for this event.

By kind permission of Edward and Clare Barham

All members and their friends are invited to a splendid afternoon tea and to enjoy the magnificent year-round garden and extensive park, open exclusively for Kent Gardens Trust on July 31st .

White House Farm, Ightham – 12th August 2021 at 10:00

Location: White House Farm, High Cross Rd, Ivy Hatch, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0NN

Cost: £30.00, Members £25.00 (to include tea / coffee on arrival. Lunch is not included, but tables will be reserved at The George and Dragon in Ightham)

This event is fully booked, but you may register on the waiting list in case places become available.There are currently 2 people on the waiting list for this event.

We are delighted to have the opportunity to pay a return visit to the private garden at White House Farm, home to Maurice Foster. One of Britain’s most distinguished plantsmen, Maurice is holder of the Victoria Medal of Honour, the RHS’s highest award and has created a wonderful 15 acre garden at White House Farm over the past forty years. Maurice’s stated overall aim in the creation of this garden was to achieve year-round colour from trees and shrubs and the garden and arboretum certainly now offer a gloriously comprehensive collection of rare and unusual trees and shrubs. Many of these plants have been grown from seed collected in the wild by Maurice and other plantsmen on expeditions to China and Mongolia and the collection is
recognised as one of the finest in the country. Given the time of year, one of the highlights of our visit will be to see Maurice's amazing collection of Hydrangeas. Please note that the terrain is hilly and unsuited to those of limited mobility.

KGT contact Alison Philip Alison@thephilips.co.uk 01732 491044

Wotton House and Albury Park, Nr. Dorking Surrey – 14th September 2021 at 10:30

Location: Wotton House, RH5 6HS, then Albury Park, GU5 9BB

Cost: £55.00, Members £50.00 (to include coffee on arrival at Wotton, and then a sandwich lunch at Wotton)

This event is fully booked, but you may register on the waiting list in case places become available.There are currently 4 people on the waiting list for this event.

John Evelyn ( 1620-1706 ) was born at Wotton, ‘my most cherished place on earth’. The house lies in the valley of the little Tillingbourne river, west of Dorking. It has been owned by the Evelyn family since 1579, but has been extensively restructured and enlarged since then. It is now an hotel. In 1640 John’s older brother George created an Italianate garden around the house to John’s designs. Although major modifications have been made, key features of the original gardens survive, including the terraced mount and classical garden temple.
If time permits we will briefly visit Wotton Church which contains the Evelyn mausoleum.

Albury Park, with its Grade 1 registered park and garden, is just five miles from Wotton and also on the Tillingbourne. It now belongs to the Duke of Northumberland. In the 17th century the estate was owned by the Earl of Arundel, a close friend of John Evelyn. Evelyn produced remarkable plans for the site which his friend duly followed, and much is still there today: extensive terracing (390 metres long!), a bath house, a semi-circular pool, and the unique tunnel, or ‘crypta’, an idea from Naples. Evelyn’s vineyards and canals were removed in the 19th century after the new owner Henry Drummond employed AWN Pugin to remodel the house. A collection of specimen trees was planted which in maturity are a serendipitous complement to the Evelyn elements.

We will be guided at both Wotton and Albury by Cherrill Sands and Brenda Lewis, both of whom were deeply involved with Evelyn when Surrey Gardens Trust marked the 300th anniversary of his death.

KGT contact: Richard Stileman Richstileman@btinternet.com 07968787950

The

Fire, Plague and 17C London Life – 2nd October 2021 at 10:30

Location: Blackfriars Tube Station

Cost: £60.00, Members £55.00 (to include lunch near Tower Hill)

This event is fully booked, but you may register on the waiting list in case places become available.There are currently 2 people on the waiting list for this event.

As seen through the eyes of Pepys and Evelyn
This tailor-made half-day walk with guide Diana Kelsey was designed to mark the 400th anniversary of the birth of John Evelyn, and 360 years from the start of Samuel Pepys’s diary. Both diarists, who became close friends, witnessed and chronicled some of the most turbulent years of London’s history and their diaries give an insight into both public and everyday life of mid-17th C London. However, the two men and their diaries were very different. Evelyn, aware of his position at the centre of English social and political life in the 17C and friend of Charles II, was more circumspect and restrained in his commentary on London. Pepys in contrast did not hold back from recording details of everyday high as well as low life including his own philandering!
The route of this walk is necessarily based on Pepys’s life (Evelyn lived downstream at Deptford), starting where he was born, weaving through the narrow alleyways along routes that he would have known, ending at the church where he is buried. Diana’s commentary will however draw extensively on both diarists’ eye-witness accounts of the Plague in 1665, the Great Fire of 1666, and the regeneration of the City after those cataclysmic events.

KGT contact Richard Stileman richstileman@btinternet.com 07968787950

Fire, Plague and 17C London Life – 9th October 2021 at 10:30

Location: Blackfriars Tube station

Cost: £60.00, Members £55.00 (to include lunch near Tower Hill)

Book online. There are currently 2 places available for this event.

The KGT Autumn Meeting - Members' Day – 7th November 2021 at 14:30

Location: The Millenium Village Hall, Egerton, TN27 9DS

Cost: £15.00 (to include afternoon tea and cakes)

Book online. There are currently 83 places available for this event.

Serendipitously, two of our Members have each just had published importantand attractive books which offer historical perspectives of, at one end of the scale, designed landscapes, and at the other end of the scale, individual plants and plant introductions. They have kindly agreed to present their work as the centrepieces of our Autumn Meeting. Signed copies of both books will be available.