************* Garden Owners, Please copy this information and paste it into an email to: wb [at] armchair-travel [dot] com Please make any changes in BRIGHT RED in your email back to us. Regards, Armchair Travel Co Ltd http://www.armchair-travel.com ************* Garden Name: Marle Place Gardens & Gallery Last Modified: 18/01/2011 Garden ID: 0523 pic: 0523_Marle_Place.jpg Owner: Mr. & Mrs. G. Williams Address: Brenchley Tonbridge Postcode: TN12 7HS County: Kent tel: 01892 722304 fax: 01892 724099 website: www.marleplace.co.uk email: lindelwilliams {at} googlemail.com Features: Gazebo and mosaic. English Heritage Grade: Opening Times: 1st Apr - 2nd Oct; Fri - Mon; 10am - 5pm, or by appointment. Last admission at 5pm, or by special arrangement after these times. Best Times of Year to Visit: Spring & summer To see: Borders, shrubs & trees. National Collection: National Garden Scheme days: Yes Comments: 25th May: 10am to 5pm 22nd June; 10am to 5pm 13th July; 10am to 5pm Parties / Coaches: Yes Comments: Viewing by Appointment: Yes Comments: House Open for Viewing: No Comments: Admission Prices: Adult £5.50; Child (4-12) £1.50; Concessions & Groups £5.00pp. Wheelchair users - free Parking: Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes Shop: No Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: No Teas: Yes Refreshments: Yes Picnics: Yes Dogs allowed: No Only on Lead: No Events: Yes Other Facilities: Art exhibition in garden and gallery. South East Open Studios 3rd June -19th June, an exhibition by Kent artists; Sculpture Show 11th - 18th September; many other art events - see webs Designer: Description of Garden: Marle Place is a privately owned garden with ten acres of formal planting and many more acres of woodland and orchard. Tucked away up a Wealden lane, the garden surrounds the Jacobean house with its massive chimney stack. The delightful gardens are a combination of hedged rooms, mostly yew and studded with topiary, and tree lined avenues. In the spring there are flowering trees and bulbs, and later on masses of old fashioned roses and herbaceous and annual plants fill the borders. Especially delightful is the scented Italianate garden with almost every plant chosen for its fragrant or aromatic leaf or flower. The classical pond with its fountain is a focal point and has water lilies, goldfish and rare newts. Marle Place is filled with exceptional planting and interesting features. Art work and sculpture, quirky wood carving and furniture, including a clock and 'chicken bench' is dotted around the charming and colourful gardens. There is the bog garden, a jungle of gunnera, iris and angelica, backed by an ever increasing collection of bamboo. The Edwardian rockery, with raised beds of azalea, acer, paeony and tulips, crowned by a magnolia leaning over the canal fed by a waterfall. A Victorian gazebo with stained glass overlooks the croquet lawn and broad steps leading through to the pleached limes and more mixed borders. The sloping beds either side of the unusual mosaic terrace are designed in blue and yellow to compliment the ceramic's colour. The kitchen garden is divided into sections following the pattern of the original beds, not all vegetables now but a formal rose bed, a newly planted parterre of box and myrtle and a lawn with medlar and quince trees. Not to be missed here is the beautiful orchid collection housed in a restored Victorian greenhouse. The double herbaceous borders give a spectacular show throughout the seasons, overflowing with colour and scent. A life size Terracotta Army archer from China, kneeling under a weeping willow guards the entrance to the allium pasture here. Below the main lawn with its old cedar trees, a curved, double beech hedge leads to a silver birch avenue and on to 10 acres of woodland mostly native trees but including the occasional exotic. Here the woodland walk takes the visitor meandering through wood anemone and bluebells beside the stream to the lake, home to a large variety of wildlife. By the lake, groups of land art enthusiasts create their temporary works. Finally, no visit to Marle Place would be complete without seeing the array of rare and funky chickens. History: Local Inns: The Bull, Brenchley Accomodation: The Bull, Brenchley Restaurants: The Bull, Brenchley Village/Town/Sightseeing: "Seven Wonders of the Weald" group of attractions.