Discover Hole Park Gardens through the Seasons

From Saturday 26 March 2016, the beautiful Hole Park Gardens in Rolvenden, Kent will open to visitors and groups every day.   These stunning gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Weald, will delight visiting groups throughout the seasons.

The gardens will come to life in early spring with a mass of flowering bulbs, including swathes of narcissus and daffodils which cover the 16 acre gardens and 10 acre woodland.   Shade-loving hellebores provide more interest along with early flowering cherry trees and impressive mature magnolia trees.  Primroses and scillas also carpet the woodlands and small narcissus are dotted around the fountain lawn.  Crocus ‘Pickwick’ can be seen under the lime tree on the east lawn.

Visitors can look forward to the amazing display of bluebells later in April, which can be best enjoyed via the circular woodland walk which also takes you past the solar powered renovated ice house.  The naturalised flowering meadows with their fritillaries and buttercups are also a pretty sight. Hole Park’s website has a bluebell barometer page which is also updated with information on what else to see in the gardens throughout the seasons.

Thanks to an ambitious bulb planting programme last year, visitors coming to Hole Park Gardens in May can enjoy swathes of dark purple tulips ‘Queen of the Night’ in the rose garden and long borders.   The pretty vineyard garden is worth a visit at the same time as it has the most unusual standard wisterias.  A walk through the sundial garden leads to a striking new allium walk.  Impressive rhododendrons and azaleas flower throughout the gardens in May when the wild orchids will start to flower in the meadows.

The delightful spires and star-shaped flowers of ‘camassia’ will provide summer colour in the policy area and the wide herbaceous borders come to life with asters, chrysanthemums and geums.  The sundial garden provides plenty of interest with fuchsia and clematis.  The late flowering agapanthus and exotic border take centre stage in late summer before the reds, yellows and golds of autumn bring interest during October. 

A new border near the house will feature the rose ‘Blue Moon’ planted with a double row of sun loving and fragrant lavender varieties ‘Gros Bleu’ and ‘Sussex’.  The camellia walk has also been extended with winter and spring plants including epimediums, pulmonaria and brunnera.

A circular network of hard paths enable visitors of all ages, including those with disabilities, to explore the gardens.  Wheelchairs may be reserved free of charge and there are full disability WC facilities.

Light lunches and delicious homemade cakes are available in the coach house where apple juice, local beer and homemade jam and honey produced from the fruit and bees on the Hole Park Estate can be purchased. There is also a small plant stall next to the coach house.

There is a dedicated tea room for groups, free parking for cars and coaches and conducted tours can also be arranged for groups by prior arrangement.

Admission: £7.00 for adults and £1 for children.  The gardens are open 11am to 6pm.

Hole Park is situated 4 miles west of Tenterden on the B2086 between Rolvenden and Benenden.

Spring Saturday 26 March to Saturday 11 June – Open daily

Summer - 15 June  to 31 October - Wednesdays & Thursdays

Autumn Sundays - 2, 9, 16 and 23 and 30 October 2016

All other times by appointment

For more information please visit www.holepark.com or telephone

01580 241344 / 241386.  Group bookings should be made in advance.