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Roses in the Garden of England

An English rose garden in June is the quintessential tourist sight for many travellers to our shores, and a pleasure for native visitors too.

Roses are one of the most evocative flowers, as delightful when viewed en masse from a distance, or up close as a single flower-laden plant. With countless varieties: old and new; single and double petalled; on its own or as a companion plant; bush, shrub, rambling or climbing; richly scented or subtly fragranced - there is a rose for every situation.

Kent's title as 'The Garden of England' is justly earned with so many public and private gardens which open their gates throughout summer for visitors to wander at leisure, admiring, coveting and garnering ideas for their own gardens. Many of the larger gardens feature roses either in special rose gardens, or as part of set piece plantings.

We've selected a few gardens open to the public where this much-loved flower is the glory of the garden in June. Drink in the sight and scent of English roses at their peak.

Penshurst Place, Penshurst
There are hundreds of varieties of roses around the Italian Garden at Penshurst Place, in the Union Flag Garden and in the stunning Rose Garden at this glorious stately home. Tall Story is one of the Viscountess de L'Isle's favourites: "In bud, Tall Story is a lovely shade of yellow; then as it matures it becomes creamier and creamier, paler and paler until it is almost pure white. The scent is magnificent - not too powerful, but unmistakable - and to walk the length of the beds when they are in full flower, is one of the best treats of the summer."
www.penshurstplace.com 01892 870307
Grounds & garden open daily 10.30am-6pm until 2 November, house open 12noon-4pm.

Hole Park Gardens, Rolvenden
These privately owned 15-acre gardens have been created by four generations of the same family and are a delightful mix of formal and informal planting.
Rosa banksias 'Lutea' flowers on the front of the house, while pink 'Francois Juranville' ornaments the side along with yellow Elegance. Paul's Himalayan musk rose, a lovely rambler with virtually thornless clusters of small double-petalled flowers, is paired with Clematis 'Perl d'Azur' in part of the garden while in the Rose Garden itself, the same clematis complements pale pink 'New Dawn'. Other roses of note include the Wedding Day rose over the pergola and roses on every pillar in the vineyard as well as species, shrub and climbing roses throughout the gardens.
www.holepark.com 01580 241344.
Open Wednesdays & Thursdays 2pm-6pm to end of October; and Sundays 2pm-6pm in June & October.

Scotney Castle, Lamberhurst
Designed in the Picturesque style and famous for its ruined castle, this National Trust property has extensive attractive gardens. Roses scramble over the ruins, creating even more photo opportunities of the stunning, picturesque Castle.www.nationaltrust.org.uk/scotneycastle - www.sevenwonders.org.uk 01892 893820
Open Wednesdays to Sundays inclusive 11am - 6.30pm until 2 November

Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Sissinghurst
The Rose Garden is one of the best loved parts of Vita Sackville-West's Sissinghurst. The centre circular lawn and hedge was designed by Harold Nicholson, Vita's husband. But roses feature throughout: it was the rose 'Madame Alfred Carriere', that was the first plant that Vita found a home for, still covering the South Cottage with its soft pink blooms. The world renowned White Garden's crowning glory is its central white rose 'Rosa mulliganii', and elsewhere the single petalled, soft peach 'Mrs Oakley Fisher' unites with its underplanted mauves and purples to imitate the Persian carpets that caught Vita's eye in Tehran.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst 01580 710701.
Open Fridays to Tuesdays inclusive, 11am - 6.30pm until 2 November.

Marle Place Gardens, Brenchley
Roses are a passion at Marle Place and are everywhere: in the borders, up walls and trees and along woodland edges. Some are over 20 years old, making mounds of flowering thicket up to 4m high, including pink-flowered and apple-scented Amy Robsart, pale pink Complicata and Cerise Bouquet. Madame Isaac Pereire is pruned each year to form a cascading fountain of fragrant blooms, an arresting feature at the apex of a double beech hedge. In the kitchen garden there are a formal set of raised beds each planted with colour matched bush roses, all chosen for their superb scent. The old brick wall that backs the herbaceous border is closely planted with climbing roses such as Summer Wine, Meg and Maigold.
www.marleplace.co.uk 01892 722304
Open Fridays to Mondays inclusive, 10am-5pm until 29 September.

Hever Castle & Gardens, Hever, Edenbridge
The annual Rose Week, 20 - 26 June, this year expresses the decadence of the Edwardian period as it celebrates the 100th anniversary of William Waldorf Astor's restoration of the castle and gardens. The castle will be adorned with displays of fragrant summer flowers and roses in the opulent style of the Edwardian era.
Outside, the Tudor Garden will be billowing with Rosa Ballerina, the velvet petals of Rosa Deep Secret at Half Moon Pond, the magnificent formal Italian Gardens with its large collection of classical statuary and profusion of summer bedding. In the walled Rose Garden the evocative scents of Champagne Cocktail, Belle Epoque and Buxom Beauty fill the air. The 110-metre herbaceous border overflows with richness of colour in the traditional Gertrude Jekyll style and the Rose Bank on Two Sisters' Lawn is a delight with the musky fragrance of the Gallica, Bourbon, Moss and Damask roses.
There are guided tours led by the Head Gardener Neil Miller and his team during the event, which is included in the normal castle admission.
www.hevercastle.co.uk 01732 865224
Open daily 10.45am - 6pm until 31 October, Thursdays to Sundays during November.

Godinton House & Gardens, near Ashford
12 acres, originally designed by Reginald Blomfield and with a magnificent yew hedge, include a classically romantic rose garden with a combination of 120 roses of 25 varieties, including Gallica and Damask and other old roses combined with China, Bourbon and modern varieties. Roses also clamber over steps, climb walls and ornament borders throughout the garden.
www.godinton-house-gardens.co.uk 01233 643854
Gardens open Thursdays to Mondays, 2pm-5.30pm until 27 October, house open Fridays to Sundays until 5 October.