Gardens of Kent and Sussex

This morning, after breakfast, we will set off for Borde Hill, a stunningly beautiful and botanically rich heritage garden, set within over 200 acres of traditional parkland. It captivates and delights visitors with a series of intimate ‘living garden rooms’, fine woodland, parkland, lakes and outstanding views across the Sussex High Weald. For over 100 years the plantings have evolved with the vision of seasonal colour and interest to complement the plantings of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and magnolias. In autumn trees such as acers, cornus, beech and oaks take on a golden mantle bringing a final blaze of colour to the garden.)

We continue to Nymans Garden, an outstanding plant collection in an inspirational setting. This theatrical garden design, created by the Messel family, is one of the finest gardens in Sussex and still retains much of the personality of the family who created it. There are many rare and exotic plants combined with a pinetum, walled garden, Italian garden and woodland walks. Colour lasts well into the autumn at Nymans, with salvias giving a particularly colourful display and the arboretum transformed into a panoply of reds, yellows and golds. Lunch is available here (not included).

We return to the hotel in time for dinner.

This morning after breakfast, we are privileged to have an ‘early-bird visit’ to the magnificently manicured gardens of Sissinghurst. This famous garden was created by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson from 1930 onwards and became the most admired English Garden of its time. Few great gardens live up to their reputations so effortlessly as this.  Sissinghurst is a large connoisseurs’ garden consisting of a series of small romantic areas enclosed by the surviving parts of an Elizabethan mansion. It never disappoints its visitors, it has the power of enchantment, but it is also an unending source of inspiration for all gardeners. Sissinghurst is surely as close to gardening perfection as you can get, and it continues to be one of the most-copied flower gardens in the world. It keeps its colour well into the autumn, when the avenue of pleached limes takes on a lovely golden hue.

We continue to another classic English Country Garden – Great Dixter. The distinguished garden writer Christopher Lloyd (who died in January 2006 at the aged of 84) was the genius behind Great Dixter, with its timbered 15^th century house.  Restored by Edwin Lutyens who also planned the garden, Mr Lloyd has firmly put his lively stamp on it. A recent experiment involved installing a summer tropical garden rich in bold shapes and brilliant colours. No gardener could come to Great Dixter without making discoveries and rekindling a zest for gardening.

We return to the hotel in time for dinner.

This morning after breakfast we will leave the hotel and head for Wakehurst Place Gardens, near Haywards Heath, which was the most visited NT property in 2009-10. The gardens, set in 180 acres, are now managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Wakehurst Place boasts a walled garden with cottage style garden plantings, a water garden with a mixture of plants growing in and around the water and the Himalayan Glade with a collection of azaleas and rhododendrons, however the main feature is the collection of trees and shrubs. In the summer months we can expect to see many delightful brightly coloured plants, while in autumn the reds and golds of the trees are reflected on the calm surface of the lake.

We depart for Perch Hill, the garden of writer and broadcaster Sarah Raven, where we will enjoy lunch followed by an exclusive guided tour with the Head Gardener. Once a rather ramshackle ex-dairy farm with a lot of concrete, corrugated iron and not much else; the land has been converted to an organic 90 acres of new seed and plant varieties. The constant supply of favourite flowers comes from the large cutting garden where the central four beds are filled with hardy and half-hardy annuals and biennials. There are also two purely ornamental gardens at Perch Hill, not dedicated to harvesting – the Oast garden with an extravagant mix of colour and structure and the front farmhouse garden, which is designed to have a calmer feel.

We will return to your original pick-up points late afternoon.