Delphinium Flower Garden
Godinton House is famous English garden for its walled Delphinium Flower Garden. In mid-June, the long borders in the walled garden at Godinton House are a magnificent sight: a mass of indigo, blue, mauve, pink and white spires, all swaying back and forth, dancing to the melodic hum of the bees as they buzz from flower to flower. ‘This was the vision of Bob Carvill, a memberof the local Delphinium Society branch.
Running out of room in his own English garden, Bob saw the potential of the walled garden as the perfect new home for his precious blooms . ‘Protection from the wind was the main reason he chose it,’ says Vivien.
‘Delphiniums are so delicate, they are easily snapped in two in all but the gentlest breeze, which is just heartbreaking for any grower.’
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| Godinton House, Delphinium, flower garden, famous walled garden |
The lovely mellow Godinton House 18th-century brick walls didn’t go unnoticed either, providing as they
do such an attractive backdrop. The first delphiniums were introduced in the year 2000, and filled one bed. Over the years, the space given to them has increased and it now amounts to three long borders, packed with more than 200 plants. ‘Looking after them is a true labour of love for the local Delphinium Society group,’ says Vivien. ‘About seven or eight members meet here every Wednesday to tend the plants.’
This involvs waging an ongoing war with the slugs, which can be a real problem at the beginning of the growing season; staking the plants in spring, and dead-heading them after they’ve flowered in June to get a second, shorter flush through August.
‘We grow some delphiniums in the walled garden borders of the main garden and the cut flower beds,’
she laughs. ‘I feel awful as they get much less attention, but they do okay.’ While the delphiniums steal the show for a month or two, the walled garden is in the throes of an ongoing restoration project and is filled with a bounty of other delights. ‘We have cultivated one half of it as a potager, so it’s planted each year with a combination of cut flowers and vegetables,’ says Vivien. ‘It is really satisfying as the flowers are used each
week in the house, which is open to the public, and the vegetables are either used in the tea rooms, sold to the public or eaten by those of us who live and work here.
Given the Godinton House and garden’s history, it is really important to me that we keep the impression
of a working kitchen garden for visitors to see, even if we cannot maintain the entire area as it would once have been.’ In fact, some of the residents have even take n up growing their own vegetables in the walled garden, so plans are now being considered to extend the scheme and find more ground for them to cultivate.
The majority of the south-facing long border, which would at one time have been furnished with a number of greenhouses, was planted by Vivien and her team last year, with an ornamental selection of plants that
appreciate the warmth of this position.
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Garden tips om walled garden
‘There is a big collection of iris supplied by a local grower, which look stunn ing in May, just before the delphiniums come into flower. They are inter planted with climbers, herbaceous perennials and shrubs to give
interest later in the year. We’re plan ting a collection of quince trees in the grassed area of the walled garden too.’
A fantastic new
greenhouse is also situated along the south-facing wall, a replacement for the two old houses that were beyond repair . It is divided into three areas, all kept at different temp eratures: the warm
zone is mainly filled with ornamentals, such as orchids, palms, ferns, bougainvillea and veltheimia; seeds and cuttings, which require some heat, are raised in a cooler zone together with pot plants for the house while
tender plants are overwintered in the remaining cold section of the greenhouse.
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| Godinton House, Delphinium, flower garden, famous walled garden |
The Godinton House Delphinium Flower Garden estate maintenance team have also painstakingly restored an alpine house and recently finished the north-facing greenhouse, which Vivien now hopes to use for her
collection of ferns.
Under her guidance, the English gardens have undergone a number of changes in the past 10 year s. ‘I will always aim to keep the architectural backbone of Sir Reginald Blomfield’s original design, which dates back
to the turn of the 20th century. ‘Of course, it is in the nature of a garden to grow and develop - for me, the joy of gardening is the constant change, and I feel so lucky to have a combination of formal and wild garden, plenty of scope for future projects and a lovely and unusual atmosphereof community here on the estate. I imagine that I will be gardening here until my fingers are prised from the gate latch.’
And, having seen the gorgeous Godinton gardens, who can blame her?
Godinton House, Godinton Lane, Ashford, Kent
TN23 3BP. The gardens are open daily from
1 March to 1 November; 2-5.30pm. See over the
page for details of the Delphini um Festi val,
taking place on site at Godinton House from 14
to 21 June. The house and tearooms open Friday,
Saturday and Sunday from 10 April to 4
October; 2-5pm. Tel: +44 (0)1233 620773 .
www.godinton-house-gardens.co.uk 
