The garden at Greys Court

A view down a pathway flanked with squre edged raised beds full of plants and flowers, with green painted wooden obelisks rising from the beds and a gap between neatly clipped green hedges in the distance — The garden is home to a wide range of flora and fauna | © National Trust Images/James Dobson

There’s something to see around every corner in the garden at Greys Court. Explore the interconnected spaces surrounded by the warm colours of ruined walls and buildings that date back centuries. With things to discover throughout the year, take time to enjoy everything this tranquil oasis has to offer.

Summer in the garden

The Rose Garden

Bursting with colour, the walled rose garden at Greys Court has a wide variety of roses coming into bloom during June, from old varieties surrounding the lawn, to newer ones near the 12th-century wall. Enjoy their glorious colours and fragrances as you wander around the paths.

The meadow

Follow the mown path to enjoy the wildflowers of the meadow in the Walled Garden, where purple alliums emerge in the summer months. Please take care to keep to the path through the meadow. Even though it is tempting to run through the wildflowers to take a good photo, this causes damage.

Peony border

With colours ranging from the purest white to dark, rich reds, and all the hues in between, the peony border is a splendid sight to take in as it comes to life throughout June. Find it near the orchard in the walled garden.

Colourful mixed borders

As we move into the summer months, the mixed borders are starting to fill up. Look out for the pink and purple border in the Rose Garden, with a collection of hardy geraniums filling up the space with beautiful colour.

Next to the greenhouses, the garden team also have a cut flower border, where fragrant colourful blooms such as sweet peas are grown, to be displayed in the buildings around the site.

Kitchen Garden

Enjoy seeing many crops being harvested in the Kitchen Garden throughout August. Some soft fruit is sent to the kitchen in the house, where volunteers continue the tradition of jam making started by Lady Brunner.

Hydrangeas

Take in the hydrangeas coming to life in the rose garden during August. Two here have received the Award of Garden Merit from the RHS. The ‘Rosalba’ and the ‘Preziosa’ are both compact bushes and their flowers open white then gradually go from pink to reddish purple.

Purple wisteria arch and flower beds in April at Greys Court — The wisteria arch and flower beds in April at Greys Court | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole

Features in the garden

Moon Bridge

This was designed by Francis Pollen as a Chinese-style ‘moon bridge’, dedicated to the Brunners’ Chinese friend, the cookery writer Dr So Yan-Kit, who the family often referred to as their ‘adopted daughter’. The area below the bridge is planted with blue irises, created to give the impression of moving water.

The Maze

The Maze was inspired by the Archbishop of Canterbury's address is 1980, in which he spoke of a ‘mazelike muddle in which the world finds itself’, and his hope that Christian and non-Christians, working together, could solve it. The design, by Adrian Fisher, is packed with Christian symbolism, for example, the seven rings stand for the seven days of creation, the three outward turns for the three days that Christ spent in the tomb.

Octagonal fountain

The octagonal stone fountain was designed by Hugo Brunner’s brother-in-law, the architect Francis Pollen. A prayer for good harvest by the Latin poet Horace was carved in slate.