Scotney Castle in Kent is one of the National Trust’s more romantic gardens. The gardens were designed in the Picturesque style of gardening. The old medieval castle is set in a valley surrounded by a moat.
As you walk down through the sloping gardens the old castle disappears behind azaleas, rhododendrons and specimen trees; only to reappear again as the aspect opens out.
A visit in May showed the azaleas and rhododendrons off to perfection in the dell garden. This area was the quarry where the stones to build Scotney Castle came from.
If you look carefully on the border above the quarry you may see the belay points, from which the ropes are hung to enable pruning of the shrubs that are too highly placed to be safely reached form the ground. We have a feeling that our Plews Hari who is fond of rock climbing would rather like this task!
The ‘new’ Scotney Castle at the top of the valley was built in the Tudor revival style and is now also open to the public.
The fountain on the terrace boasts a stone cat trying to catch a stone fish; and the views from the terrace not only show the steeply sloping gardens but also take the eye out to the further landscape and nearby Bewl Water.
The old Scotney Castle is a romantic semi ruin, surrounded by gardens and a fish filled moat.
In May there are white iris, blue lithospernum and pink persicaria in the sunnier borders.
Through an archway and past a big pot of bright yellow tulips you’ll find purple flowered geranium phaeum in a long shady border.
Back near the new Scotney Castle there is the Victorian walled kitchen garden, which is gradually being brought back into use.
The paths cut the garden into quarters, radiating out from the central watering pond, and one of the original greenhouses still leans against the wall.
Vegetable beds have been cut out of the lawn, and there are deep borders around the walls for espaliered fruit and ornamental flowering plants.
Hens are a welcome addition to the garden. When we visited they were still in temporary accommodation but were enjoying dust baths.
Chicken manure can be used as an organic soil and crop fertiliser; it is rich in nitrogen. And of course, their eggs can be used in the kitchen to make cakes for the café…
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