The garden at Ightham Mote

Summer in the Garden at Ightham Mote

The garden is at its most colourful during the summer months. With vibrant colours, the buzz of wildlife and space to relax in the historic pleasure grounds, it’s time to make the most of nature.

A bit of formality

As summer begins, our Formal Garden is replanted with a new to add variety and try out new ideas and plants.The Cutting Garden has an abundance of flowers used in the house. Our sweet peas, the scent released along the lavender walk and the long-lasting colour painted sage Salvia viridis are especially popular. If you’d like to know how we care for our sweet peas, Pippa gives her top tips here...

Although narrow, the borders of stable courtyard provide a colourful display from early summer to well into autumn in keeping with the courtyard and cottage setting. The deeper, long herbaceous border provides a flamboyant mix of perennial plants, ranging from cool whites and blues to vibrant fiery hues of yellow and red. Its grass walkway has rustic arches adorned with Rosa ‘Rambling Rosie’ and a colourful narrow border on the side overlooking the north lawn. For the wonderful scent of Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ and a peaceful seat in the sunshine sheltered by the walls and with the relaxing sound of water trickling into

Pleasure grounds – controlled informality

The historic pleasure grounds may have been started in the 18th but mainly developed in the 19th century. Its expanse of undulating lawn, specimen trees, trickling stream and sunlight dancing on the lake makes for a relaxing place to take a stroll, picnic, or read a book, and while away the hours.

Adding some ‘natural’ wilderness

Informal areas or representations of nature or wilderness are popular throughout the history of gardening. In the fernery, the bold foliage of ferns and Hostas in delicate shades of green create a subtle air of wildness. Clinging to the side of the bank, they suggest that nature has had a hand in the planting.

The stumpery with its old, gnarled and rooty tree stumps utilises the natural conditions to portray this popular feature of Victorian gardens, inspired by Italian grotto. Set amongst mature trees, with ground water springs, the shady, cool, environment is ideal for ferns and other moisture loving plants.

A touch of the wild

Gardens can help us support our struggling wildlife, but we can make them even better. We started a few years ago by clearing and sowing an area of wild flower and grass seed mixes beneath the historic varieties of apple trees in the orchard.

Since then, we expanded our areas of wildflower meadows and areas that we mow less often or leave uncut for ‘No-mow May’ or longer periods. The native flowers are lovely, provide nectar and seeds and the meadow provide homes for many insects and other animals.

We are lucky to have the stream, lakes, and pools, as water for animals to drink is a really great way to bring wildlife into a garden. Our lakes also support populations of frogs, toads and newts and like our other wilder areas create a wonderful food web of animals coming to the garden. Even here we have been making improvements through careful maintenance and by planting native plants in the water and margins of the lakes to add biodiversity.

In creating The Dell garden, we have allowed space for many of our native woodland plants to live alongside the ornamental ones we have added. Around the less formal parts of the garden and towards the boundaries we allow many wild plants that could be considered ‘weeds’ in the formal areas to thrive and enrich our garden habitats benefitting the many native plant and animal species that visit and live on site. In some areas we must cut down the growth of taller wild plants or ‘weed out’ some that would take over and kill off the smaller and less vigorous native species or some of our ornamental plants. By careful management we can maintain a balance that keeps the garden looking beautiful but provides homes, food, water and shelter for a wide range of native plants and animals.

A plentiful supply of water

Nestled within a hidden valley, a narrow stream runs through the grounds, supplying two lakes and the moat. It tumbles down two feature cascades on its journey through the garden. Other natural springs have been tapped to supply the four small, fountain pools and several open channels, which add to the atmosphere, charm, tranquillity and variety of the garden.

As you walk down the slope from the entrance and turn right towards the house, you arrive at the north lawn with its 18th-century cascade and terraced walks on either side. Originally the site of a lake, it was drained in the 18th century to create the lawn, which features in the painting 'A Game of Bowls' by John Singer Sargent, on display in the house.

Within our moat itself we see a variety of fish. Ightham Mote is not available to fish, except for limited, once a year event, usually on Father’s Day, check our Upcoming Events section.

The Enclosed Garden

Wander around the outside of the house, past the tower, to discover the Enclosed Garden, hidden behind ragstone walls. This secluded, paved garden, with its 'secret garden' behind the hedge, provides a charming place to spend some time.

Sunlight dances off the cherub fountain in the centre, while the soft colours and foliage of the planting scheme reflect the idea of the house’s American donor of what a traditional English garden should look like.

The stable courtyard

Coming out of the Enclosed Garden, the original garden and house entrance was from the driveway to your right. Imagine riding through the gates and dismounting your horse onto the mounting block to start your visit.

Today, as you walk into the stable courtyard, there are formal lawns and bright herbaceous borders. In the 17th century it was a working farm, as well as a forecourt to the house, with stables and farm buildings on three sides and a large oval carriage circle.

When the ‘new’ farmyard was built nearby in the 18th century, the remaining buildings were converted to workers' cottages and the courtyard became more ornamental with the layout of lawns and borders we see today.

The Formal Garden

The Formal Garden, with its saucer pond in the centre, and four symmetrical beds, has been an Italianate Garden and a rose garden in the past. Most recently it has formal bedding displays, changed twice each year, designed by a different member of the gardening team.

The Cutting Garden

Stepping through the high hedge, the cutting garden provides a fine display of flower and foliage shapes and colours throughout summer, used as cut flowers for the house. The scent from the Cutting Garden is especially good at the end of June and into July when the sweet peas and lavender are at their best.

The long herbaceous border

On the other side of the orchard wall, the west terrace walk boasts fine herbaceous borders, with rustic wood archways featuring climbing roses across the grass pathway. Its long season of interest is provided by a variety of bulbs in spring, and the display of flowers and foliage from July to September and often into October.

North Pleasure Grounds

With a meandering stream, ornamental lake, informal lawns and specimen trees, the Pleasure Grounds at the north end of the garden probably have their origins in the 18th century and were extended again in the 19th century. It's a lovely place to enjoy a gentle stroll, sit in the shade and have a picnic, take in the views or simply relax in a deckchair and listen to the sounds of birdsong and leaves rustling in the breeze.

The East Terrace

From the North Pleasure Grounds a sloping path and steps under a canopy of trees lead to the upper pathway running along a planted, sunny bank towards visitor reception. A lower path leads to the east grass terrace overlooking the north lawn, running along a bank with cherry trees underplanted with snowdrops, primroses and daffodils, creating a cheery display in spring followed by wild flowers in summer.

The South Lake

This area provides a wonderful view back to the house across the lake with its reflection in the water. The South Lake pleasure grounds may be of 18th-century origin and further developed in the 19th century, however it declined in the early 20th century.

The area has recently been opened regularly when conditions allow, and each year we do a little bit more conservation work toward restoring it as an attractive pleasure ground and haven for wildlife.

The orchard

There are more than 15 types of apples grown at Ightham Mote, most of which are heritage varieties, with a mixture of cider, culinary and dessert apples including the sweet Sunset, first discovered in nearby Ightham Village, and the Flower of Kent, the variety beneath which Isaac Newton came up with his theory of gravity.

There has traditionally been an orchard at Ightham Mote, but this one is relatively new, planted in 1989. Each year the apples are harvested and used in the menu in the café, and some are available for visitors to buy.