Visiting the garden at Bateman's

Brightly coloured flowers in the Mulberry garden during the summer — Flowers in the Mulberry garden during the summer | © National Trust/Lucy Evans

Bateman's sits nestled in the High Weald countryside, surrounded by fields and woodland. The 12-acre garden that made Rudyard Kipling feel like an English country gentleman includes a river, wildflower meadow, watermill, orchard, lily pond and formal rose garden. With colour and interest found throughout the year, there is always something to see as you discover the delights of the garden at Bateman’s.

Summer in the garden at Bateman’s

As we venture from spring into summer, the gardens at Bateman's continue to explode with colour and now there's the delicious scent of rose in the air too.

Roses

Here at Bateman's, Rudyard Kipling's love of roses can still be seen today.  As you approach the house through the orchard you will be greeted by the glorious scent of rugosa roses and the fragrant rose walk.

On the walls there are climbers and ramblers in a variety of colours including deep red Rosa 'Ena Harkness' and primrose yellow Rosa 'Goldfinch'.

We also have a section of shrub, hybrid tea and polyantha roses inter-mixed with flowering shrubs and perennials but the crowning glory must be the lily pond and rose garden designed by Kipling himself after being awarded the Noble Prize in Literature. Here three varieties of floribuna roses in shades of pink and red flower constantly throughout the summer and well into autumn.

The summer borders

One of the highlights of a summer visito to Bateman's are the Mulberry Garden borders. Originally laid out as an ornamental kitchen garden, these beds were replanted in the 1970s as a mixed shrub and perennial summer border.

In 2009 we decided to change the planting again to better reflect the feel of this space as Kipling would have known it. Every year we are adding more colour with plants both ornamental and edible.

Garden & Outdoors Manager, Len Bernamount, comments,

'Being a walled garden, this space would've been perfect for growing a wide range of produce for the family and household but we do know that it also contained more ornamental elements.

This has given us an opportunity to let out imaginations run riot and experiment with all sorts of planting combinations; this year you'll find giant sunflowers growing amongst sweetcorn, tomatoes and purple mangetout racing Morning Glory to the top of rustic obelisks or curly kale and red cabbages growing as accent plants amongst Zinnias, Dahlias and a whole host of beautiful annual flowers.

This fusion of food and flower is the ultimate companion planting scheme which fools any pests who dare to enter our garden.  Even our salad plants are multi-purpose; some will be picked for freshly made salads and some will be allowed to flower and produce the most amazing architectural shapes, such as curly green spires or leafy burgundy columns.

The most exciting thing is that every year the planting will be different.'

The Wild Garden

Here Kipling’s love of the countryside he settled in can be seen all around with a dazzling array of dragonflies and damselflies skimming over the Lily Pond, Wild Garden and the Mill Pond. In summer, as well as the more exotic Skunk Cabbage and prehistoric looking Gunnera manicata, the Wild Garden is full of native wild flower species, such as Ox-eye Daisy, Vetches, Germander Speedwell, Pignut, Hawkbits and Knapweed; a natural corridor which blurs the boundaries between the garden and estate beyond.

Wider Estate

In summer, clovers and vetches of all colours mingle with the Common Spotted Orchid and the scarce Green-Veined Orchid. Red Campion, Meadowsweet, Rosebay Willowherb and the rare Coralroot Bittercress can be found growing along the field margins and river banks and as you wander through this pastoral splendour, clouds of butterflies will lead you to lightly shaded ponds with dragonflies darting here and there.

Our network of footpaths will guide you through the tranquil Dudwell Valley; a landscape that inspired some of Kipling’s later works such as Puck of Pook’s Hill and Rewards & Fairies. On a hazy summer’s day with the brown trout basking in pools in the river you could almost imagine that Puck has come to take you on a journey of discovery through this ancient and historic landscape.

The Orchard

As you enter the garden at Bateman’s through the orchard and vegetable garden you’re met with a sweeping view towards the house, sitting beautifully within the garden and the valley beyond.

The orchard contains a mixture of apples, pears, plums, damsons, medlars, crab apples and a black mulberry tree. Along the west-facing wall is a cutting border, providing flowers and foliage for floral displays in the house and tea-room.

This walled garden epitomises Kipling's ethos of relaxed formality with productive and ornamental plants growing side by side. Today the produce grown here is sent to the tea-room for you to enjoy.

Jacobean sandstone house with front flower borders and lawn in spring at Bateman's — The front of the house in spring at Bateman's, East Sussex | © National Trust/Jennifer Coe

The Mulberry Garden

One of the highlights of a visit to Bateman's is the Mulberry Garden. Originally a farm yard, this part of the garden was laid out by Kipling in an arrangement of box-bordered beds, possibly in a kitchen garden style. The metal gate in the Mulberry Garden was designed with stylised ‘RK’ lettering.

Although redesigned during the 1970s, the garden is now being replaced with an annual display reflecting Kipling’s original design, consisting of a spring display of wallflowers and tulips followed by a summer display of flowers and vegetables in an ornamental potager style of planting.

Looking through gateway of Mulberry Garden, Bateman's, East Sussex — Gateway of Mulberry Garden at Bateman's | © National Trust Images/Nina Elliot

The Front Garden

The Front Garden at Bateman's is bordered by tall yew trees and grand iron gates. The colourful blooms found in the front borders welcome visitors to the house. As visitors approach the front door they pass an ironstone slab placed in the doorway to keep witches out – or so legend has it.

Kipling avoided adding too much embellishment to this part of the garden, preferring a simple approach to complement the traditional look of the Jacobean house.

The Quarterdeck

The raised path and upper lawn that runs in front of the house is known as the Quarterdeck and is a more formal part of the garden. During the winter the water levels around the River Dudwell rise, and the lower lawn is often flooded; this area gave Kipling a vantage point to survey his surroundings.

Turning towards the lower lawn terrace, you can see two perfectly straight rows of pleached limes. Planted in 1898, just before Kipling bought Bateman’s, they are very much in keeping with the original Jacobean garden which must have existed here during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Lily Pond and Rose Garden

The rose garden and lily pond were designed by Kipling and his drawing is on display in the house. The Rose Garden was replanted in 2007, as the original plants were slowly dying. The new roses were sponsored by members of the public in memory of people who have worked at Bateman's, from Kipling's time to the present day, or to commemorate a special visit here.

Rudyard Kipling’s love of roses can be seen throughout the garden today. As you approach the house through the orchard during the summer you’re greeted with the glorious scent of roses on the fragrant rose walk. On the walls are climbers and ramblers in a variety of colours, and there’s also a selection of polyantha roses inter-mixed with flowering shrubs and perennials.

The Wild Garden

As you pass between the stone pillars of the gateway and enter the Wild Garden, the atmosphere changes dramatically. The Wild Garden, where Kipling once had his tennis court, is now planted informally with a mass of spring bulbs and flowering trees and shrubs; it offers colour and interest all through the year.

Park Mill at Bateman's

The mill was much loved by Kipling and features in Puck of Pook’s Hill. It dates back to 1750 and in Kipling’s day it was used to power hydro-electric turbines which generated electricity for the house.