Walmer Castle in Spring

Spring often comes early at Walmer Castle. Winter aconites Eranthus hymalis provide splashes of yellow in the Queen Mother's Garden, and hellebores open in the Woodland Garden. In the Paddock swathes of daffodils entice you to explore the garden further, before being replaced later in the year by bluebells. From the first signs of spring, daffodils and snowdrops emerge all across the gardens, the result of large scale plantings by the castle's gardeners in recent seasons.

At the top end of the Oval Lawn a well established group of Fritillaria meleagris, the snake's head fritillary, is steadily increasing through self-seeding year by year. With the warmer weather, cherry blossom in the Paddock and apple blossom in the Orchard and Kitchen Garden create a magnificent sight whilst cowslips and oxslips proliferate in the castle meadow.

Walmer Castle in Summer

In the meadow, wild flowers including pyramid orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis), common spotted orchids and blue Scabiosa can be seen nestled in the long grass. The trees surrounding the Paddock provide a striking dark green backdrop to the rest of the garden.

During summer, the Kitchen Garden is in full production with a spectacular offering of vegetables and flowers. A permanent display of houseplants, cacti and succulents can also be admired in the Glasshouse.

Even the castle itself is taken over by the riot of colour spreading across the gardens. Large colonies of Australian daisy, Erigeron Karvinskianus, begin to peek out from nooks and crannies across the walls and bastions, brightening the scene still further.

The mix of, cool shaded lawns, leafy woodland canopies and coastal breezes make Walmer a comfortable garden to explore in the heat of summer. Children can stretch their legs on the oval lawn, spot dragonflies flitting above the Queen Mother's Garden pond, or challenge each other in giant garden games. Grown-ups have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the shade nearby, take a stroll through William Pitt's Pleasure Grounds, or perhaps admire the view of the gardens through the Keyhole.

With longer evenings and plentiful outdoor space, in summer the gardens are also a popular venue for performances by local musicians.

Walmer Castle in Winter

With just a few remaining crops in the Kitchen Garden, the hard work of preparing the ground again for the new season is well underway.

With perennials in the Broadwalk cut back, the gardeners mulch the borders and cut the cloud hedge. Plant supports are made with hazel branches collected from the Woodland.

Colour and interest in the garden are provided by snowdrops, winter aconite and Helleborus in the Woodland and during mild winters with an early showing of the 'summer snowflake' Leucojum aestivum in the Queen Mother's Garden.

In December 2024 our collection of Greatorex Double Snowdrops has been awarded National Plant Collection Status by Plant Heritage. Some of the collection has been planted out at the top of the Orchard, others can be found in a pot display in the Kitchen Garden amongst a colleciton of over 80 other rare snowdrop varieties.