The garden at Scotney Castle

What is a 'Picturesque' garden?

The term Picturesque can be difficult to define, but it describes a style of garden design that emerged in the late 18th century, inspired by the landscapes of European paintings. Instead of formal layouts and perfect symmetry, it embraces natural, varied and sometimes unpredictable scenery.

Many of these ideas were shaped by travellers on the Grand Tours of Europe, including Edward Hussey III. Inspired by dramatic landscapes, ancient ruins and ever-changing views, they returned home wanting to recreate these scenes.

A Picturesque garden is designed to feel like a living painting, shaped by contrast, texture and atmosphere. Beauty is found not just in neatness, but in irregular forms, striking views, and the effects of time and nature.

At Scotney, this approach is clear. The wooded valley, reflective water and Quarry create a naturally dramatic setting, while the deliberately ruined Old Castle adds a sense of age and romance.

Writers such as Reverend William Gilpin encouraged landscapes that felt softened and imperfect, with buildings blending into their surroundings. His nephew, William Sawry Gilpin, later worked with Edward Hussey III and advised on the partial ruination of the Old Castle to achieve this effect.

Rather than a sharp divide between house and countryside, a Picturesque garden creates a gentle transition, where the formal and the wild blend seamlessly into one another.

Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

The garden at Scotney is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), meaning it protects important habitats, plants and wildlife.

One of its highlights is the rare Green-winged orchid (Anacamptis morio). Once regularly mown, the mansion house terrace lawns are now managed as a wildflower meadow to help these orchids thrive. The grass is cut just once a year and the cuttings removed to keep the soil low in nutrients.

Each May, the orchids are counted, with numbers now reaching around 1,500. Their survival depends on a delicate partnership with fungi in the soil, which is why herbicides and artificial fertilisers are not used.

Scotney is also home to a wide range of wildlife, including dormice, great crested newts, dragonflies, moths and butterflies, all carefully monitored by the ranger team.

The way the garden is managed plays a vital role in supporting this biodiversity. Grass areas are left longer and cut less frequently, allowing flowers such as daisies and clover to bloom and provide food for pollinators. Leaves are left under trees and borders to create a natural mulch, and planting is chosen to provide food and shelter throughout the year.

The Old Castle

The gardens around the Old Castle are a peaceful place to sit and take in the beauty of the borders and roses that frame the historic ruin.

A sweeping herbaceous border curves around the lawn, filled with a mix of perennials including salvias, roses, geraniums, geums, euphorbias, achilleas and Michaelmas daisies. At its centre is a Venetian marble well head, surrounded by herb beds arranged in colour themes of blue, pink and yellow.

These beds were carefully restored in 2023–24 to improve their shape and drainage. Historic photographs also revealed a series of small round thyme beds between them, which have now been reinstated.

Inside the castle ruins, the sheltered conditions create the perfect environment for sub-tropical planting. Most plants are left unprotected through winter, with only the more tender varieties, such as Musa basjoo and Dicksonia antarctica, given protection.

Several notable plants add to the character of the site, including the Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), Celastrus orbiculatus climbing the ruin walls and providing vibrant autumn colour, and the white wisteria that winds up the old staircase, elegantly framing the castle in spring.

The Walled Garden

The Walled Garden was built between 1837 and 1839 to provide fruit, vegetables and flowers for the Hussey family. It is exactly one acre in size, and its unusual octagonal shape gives maximum wall space for growing trained fruit trees. In the Victorian period, the sheltered environment of walled gardens gave gardeners the opportunity to create a microclimate, enabling them to supply fresh produce to the house throughout the year.

The Walled Garden was in full productivity from 1840 to 1970, when it was given to the National Trust. In 2011, a project was launched to bring it back into cultivation. Paths were rediscovered and resurfaced, historic plant lists and plans were found in the archives, and traditional fruit varieties were gradually replanted.

Today, the garden remains in active cultivation. A wide range of fruit and vegetables is grown, with produce donated to a local food bank and sold next to the second-hand bookshop. From the borders, volunteers also create bunches of flowers to sell, continuing the garden’s long tradition of productivity.

The Walled Garden continues to evolve as part of the wider Reconnecting Scotney project, which is exploring new ways to care for and enhance the garden.

The Quarry

Originally a saw pit, the Quarry was deepened during the construction of the house, providing stone for its foundations.

In the 1840s, Edward Hussey III transformed the Quarry into a garden, making a feature of its dramatic rock faces, creating steps, and enriching the area with planting.

Some of the Quarry’s most striking plants are the Ghent azaleas, introduced in the early 20th century by Edward Windsor Hussey. These are hybrid rhododendrons, known for their strong scent, which fills the Quarry when they are in flower.

He also planted the acers, which frame views down towards the Old Castle, particularly from the bastion. Varieties include Acer palmatum and Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum Atropurpureum’.

Seasonal planting adds further interest, from snowflakes in early spring and Turkish squill, to the purple-pink flowers of the Judas tree. In summer, blue willow gentians line the steps and terraces as you descend into the cool, sheltered Quarry.