PRESS RELEASE
24 February 2025 - For immediate release
Find Spring delights at Hole Park Gardens
It may not feel like it at the moment, but Spring really is just around the corner and the first signs are already in evidence at Hole Park Gardens, Rolvenden, which opens for 2025 to visitors on Tuesday April 1st.
The 16-acres of private gardens, which lie a short drive from the historic market town of Tenterden and close to the pretty town of Cranbrook, are beginning to burst into a riot of Spring colour both formal and wild.
Nestled in the heart of the Weald of Kent National Landscape, these dog-friendly and spacious gardens are a hidden horticultural gem, which not only offer seasonal colour all year round but rare tranquillity - something which is regularly remarked on by visitors.
As well as room to roam, there is plentiful seating, carefully positioned for visitors to not only admire the gardens and spectacular views of the surrounding parkland but also to relax - reflecting the gardens' original purpose as a place for its creator, Colonel Arthur Barham, Great Grandfather of current owner Edward Barham, to find peace after the horrors and personal loss of the First World War.
The first displays of colour will be found in the Centenary Walled Garden, adjacent to the main house, which was re-designed in 2023 in celebration of 100 years since the gardens first opened to the public.
Hole Park's woodland garden will come to life with swathes of bright blue scillas while its many acres of woodland will be carpeted with wild primroses and wood anemones: the precursors to the emergence of the garden's renowned annualBluebell Spectacular. This magical event attracts hundreds of visitors each year, eager to see one of Nature's most impressive shows, as the woodland floor becomes a sea of violet-blue from mid-April to mid-May.
The Hole Park website will provide a ‘bluebell barometer' with regular updates about the maturity and development of the bluebells as they approach their peak. It will also carry an important message about how to respect and protect these fragile native flowers, as Hole Park's Head Gardener Quentin Stark explains:
"When people see bluebells in full bloom it can be more than tempting to just step into their midst to take that perfect photo. But trampling these delicate plants doesn't just spoil the view for others that year; it actually causes long-term and possibly irreparable damage to the bulbs beneath the ground, due to compacting the soil from persistent footsteps."
The Hole Park team has therefore come up with a plan to highlight the ideal spots where the best photos of the spectacular carpet can be safely taken without risking the health of the plants and the extensive display for years to come. Details will be available both on the website and at the garden entrance when visitors arrive.
A special ‘Bluebells and Bubbles' evening woodland tour, led by Edward Barham and concluding with a glass of English sparkling wine and canapes, takes place at the height of the display. Early booking is recommended for this popular annual event.
As the bluebells fade, two new spectacles arrive. Firstly, the sides of the woodland valley are filled with a new sight - and scent - as the Wild Garlic comes into flower. Next, Hole Park's abundant wisteria will bloom, both beside the house and in the curved Vineyard Garden, adorning the pergola walk and impressive Standard Wisteria trees within.
This year's visitors will also be able to see the progress being made to re-model the Millennium Garden beside the house. This is being undertaken by the Hole Park Garden team and will include a new planting scheme around the Italian-style pond and access to the tropical border walk and adjacent wild flower and orchid meadow which develops in early Summer.
After exploring both gardens and woodland, visitors can stop at the Coach House Tea Room which will be open from 11am on all garden opening days, serving delicious light refreshments, lunches and afternoon teas, all featuring local produce.
As well as the Bluebells and Bubbles evening, further special Spring events to look out for on the website are: a propagation gardening workshop, led by Head Gardener Quentin Stark; a Summer Plant Fair (1stJune), and a guided history talk by Edward Barham, covering the fascinating history of the estate along with the Barham family's custodianship from 1911. Personal and group tours can also be booked by prior arrangement.
Visitwww.holepark.comfor full visitor information and discounted day tickets or, better still, invest in a season ticket for just £35 per Adult to enjoy the gardens until they close for the year in October.
-ends-
For further information please contact:
Press Office, Hole Park Estate, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Kent TN17 4JA
Helen Douglas
E:info@holepark.com
DL: 01580 241344DL
or
Alison Miles (after 28 February)
E:pressoffice@holepark.com
01580 241344 / M: 07900 691116
Notes to editors
Nestled in 200 acres of classic English parkland,Hole Park is a hidden gem of the High Weald National Landscape. It has been owned by the Barham family for the past four generations, having been purchased as a family home by Edward Barham's Great Grandfather, Colonel Arthur Barham, in 1911. In the mid-1920s the Colonel made the bold decision to share the beauty of his recently-created gardens, by opening them to the public: a tradition that is maintained to the present day. Over the decades, each succeeding generation has improved and innovated the layout and planting in the gardens.
The current custodians, Edward and Clare Barham, moved into Hole Park with their three children and dogs in 2003. Since then, they have undertaken a comprehensive re-planting programme of the garden which reflects and enhances the Colonel's original plans from the 1920s. Edward and Clare both take an active role in managing the gardens. This includes public opening days, so they are often found selling tickets in front of the house, serving in the Tea Room or walking their dogs around the gardens.
Spring Highlights
Visitors to the gardens in early April will see swathes of crocuses, narcissi and daffodils. A pretty ‘Camelia Walk' with shade-loving hellebores takes walkers down a path flanked by flowering cherry trees. Before the bluebells take centre stage, the meadows and woodland floor are a sea of primroses and dainty blue scillas. Magnificent mature magnolia trees will also be flowering throughout the gardens and woodlands.
In May the gardens are full of tulips, roses and clematis and the vineyard garden has several impressive standard wisterias to admire. Rhododendrons and azaleas flower throughout the gardens and delicate wild orchids will start to flower in the meadows alongside the architectural spires and star-shaped flowers of ‘camassia'. The sundial garden provides an interesting view over the Wealden countryside through an oval shaped window in the topiary hedge.
Summer Highlights
Visitors to the gardens in the summer months can see the recently renovated long herbaceous borders. Half the border has been replanted in the original pink and blue planting scheme first used by the late Christopher Lloyd when he first designed the border at Hole Park. The remainder of the border was replanted using the original colour scheme of yellow and white. Visitors can also find a riot of colour in the Centenary Garden (formerly the Rose Garden) planted in 2023 to celebrate 100 years since the original completion of Hole Park's gardens by Col Arthur Barham.
Late Summer and Autumn Highlights
The late flowering agapanthus ‘Hole Park Blue'and colourful exotic border with its cannas and dahlias are an impressive sight in late summer before the reds, yellows and golds of autumn appear, bringing colour and interest to the gardens in October.