insideKENT Magazine Issue 50 - May 2016 | Page 111

DAYSOUT

The Year of the English Garden
at Leeds Castle
LEEDS CASTLE IS PROUD TO BE A FEATURED GARDEN IN THE VISIT
ENGLAND ‘YEAR OF THE ENGLISH GARDEN’ CAMPAIGN.
Discover a year of outdoor events at Leeds Castle
including Chelsea Fringe, guided walks with the
head gardener, summer activities for children in
the maze and different sights, smells and colours
in the stunning Castle gardens – open all year
round for your enjoyment.
Leeds Castle is set within 500 acres of beautiful
grounds, in the heart of the garden on England.
Visitors never forget their first breathtaking vision
of Leeds Castle, rising majestically from the moat
as it has done for over 900 years. Today, the
Leeds Castle Foundation continues to maintain
surrounding parkland, farms, woodland, a 9-hole
golf course and formal gardens.
The Castle Island sits adjacent to the Great Water,
created by one of the greatest garden designers
of the 20th century, Russell Page. Page also
designed and planted the beautiful Culpeper

Garden, which takes its name partly from Sir
Thomas Culpeper, who bought the Castle in
1632, and partly from Nicholas Culpeper, the
17th-century herbalist.
In 2016, the Gardening Team will continue to
develop the Culpeper Garden, adding new plants
to boost the variety of species and colour for
visitors to feast their eyes on, particularly worth
a visit in early summer when the garden is fragrant
and at its tallest.
Follow some steps down from the Culpeper
Garden and you will find yourself on the Lady
Baillie Mediterranean Garden Terraces, which
was opened in 1999 by HRH Princess Alexandra,
Patron of the Leeds Castle Foundation. Designed
by landscape architect, Christopher Carter, this
garden was originally built on the site of Lady
Baillie's aviary and is now a favourite destination
for visitors to the Castle.

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Head gardener at Leeds Castle, Andrew
McCoryn, explains: “The Lady Baillie Garden is
my top must-visit garden for visitors in 2016.
Last year, we introduced more palm trees and
cacti and we invested a lot into our gardens
across the estate, but primarily the Lady Baillie
garden. This was definitely the most successful
project of 2015, particularly all the work that has
been done along the bottom terrace.
“Last summer we had added a whole other level
to the terrace. We have a 300-meter-long border
and within a year it is already planted up and
looks mature, with a mixture of bananas and
palm trees. The Lady Baillie garden is the Castle