Great Gardens of the World: Why Arundel Castle Gardens are among the best in the world

Arundel Castle is home to the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk and Martin Duncan has been head gardener for more than 12 years, taking responsibility for designing the gardens.
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Arundel Castle Gardens have not only just been named among the top three gardens in the UK, they have also recently joined Great Gardens of the World, a network of international gardens, garden designers and landscape architects.

Easy Garden Irrigation analysed more than 30 of the UK’s most popular gardens, including size, heritage and reviews on Tripadvisor, to generate a list of the top 10 best gardens in the UK and Arundel Castle Gardens was ranked second.

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Great Gardens of the World was launched by Rado in partership with Grandi Giardini Italiani, an organisation focused on natural beauty and design. It was an extension of the work they had done together since 2017 to promote the great gardens of Italy and Arundel Castle Gardens were included in January.

Izzy McKinley, senior organic kitchen gardener, in the apple archesIzzy McKinley, senior organic kitchen gardener, in the apple arches
Izzy McKinley, senior organic kitchen gardener, in the apple arches
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Great Gardens of the World: Arundel Castle Gardens tops lists of the best garden...

Martin said: “The current Duke and Duchess of Norfolk are forward thinking and great exponents of the gardens, which makes working at Arundel Castle fantastic. The garden team feel that they are not only part of history but also making history as the gardens continue to evolve.

“The Arundel Castle Gardens are glorious gardens to explore, with surprises around each corner, a beautiful award-winning water garden recently restored from the historic stew ponds, tropical  and English  gardens, the quirky Stumpery Garden and the abundant Organic Kitchen Garden with its original 1852 vine and peach house, one of only three left, and new Messenger replica tropical glasshouse. Immerse yourself in the fragrance of the rose garden and enjoy the tranquillity of the Fitzalan Chapel’s white garden.”

The Collector Earl’s Garden, with the first known labyrinth of tulips, was opened in 2008 by the Prince of Wales and Martin launched the annual tulip festival in 2011. Other areas at Arundel Castle include the Rose Garden, Wildflower Garden, Cut Flower Garden and the Water Gardens, which won the Sussex Heritage Award for Landscape & Gardens 2020.

The Stumpery Garden at Arundel CastleThe Stumpery Garden at Arundel Castle
The Stumpery Garden at Arundel Castle
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Tickets for this year’s tulip festival will go on sale in March. Visit www.arundelcastle.org for more information.

Back in January 1874, Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener described the garden as 14 acres of kitchen garden, in three main areas. An orchard of five acres contained frames for ‘forcing’ crops, the walled garden was planted with various fruit trees and heated pits were used to force bedding plants and house plants.

The Collector Earl’s Garden is in an area that originally formed part of the historic kitchen gardens and later a car park. It was transformed as a memorial to Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, an avid art collector. It features oak pagodas covered in Hornbeam, Oberon’s Palace with its unique floating crown, water fountains and rills depicting the local river Arun.

The Stumpery Garden was designed by Martin using the magnificent old tree stumps from the estate, mostly oak, sweet chestnut and yew, which had fallen during the 1987 Great Storm in the wooded areas of the estate. This garden encourages wildlife and insects and changes with the seasons.

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The English herbaceous borders have seen considerable change over the past eight years. They have a natural style using classic plantings with plants cascading softly on to the paths.

The Cut Flower Garden is used for both display and to supply the castle with fresh flowers and the Organic Kitchen Garden produces a wonderful array of organic seasonal fruit and vegetables that is used in the castle.

The Water Gardens has been a two-year project to enhance the natural beauty of the historic stew ponds and showcase the biodiversity of this natural area with tranquil water gardens, native flora and fauna.

The Rose Garden now has Gothic arches and benches with additional heavily scented old English roses, all grown in an area that was originally a medieval bowling green.

Fitzalan Chapel Garden is a white garden planted with soft white iceberg roses, cosmos, cleomes and snow white erymurus lilies. Like any garden, there are constant changes throughout the season.

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