Home to the Oldfield family for a century, the latest custodians Richard and Amicia Oldfield are continuing the legacy of Doddington Place and its fine estate. The handsome Victorian house overlooks the formal gardens, which then merge into woodland, 850 acres of countryside and the fine views of the North Downs. Each owner has put their mark on the gardens that today blend traditional and modern elements within the ten-acre landscape.
Although extensive plans were drawn up for the gardens in the 1870s for the original owner, Sir John Croft, they are mainly the legacy of Mrs Jefferies (nee Oldfield), who created the garden from 1906 to the 1950s. They still evoke her Edwardian spirit, in the architectural layout, with a restored rock garden true to its original framework but today with greater drama, and the intriguing one-mile yew hedge with its organically shaped mounds. 'We have made a new area beyond the rock garden with a curving York stone bench and a brazier looking out over the park,' adds Amicia. 'It's more of a spring garden but a lovely quite spot to sit nonetheless.'.
The 1960s saw the development of the woodland garden when it was discovered that an area of the space had moist, deep acid loam instead of only the expected chalk of the North Downs. Mature azaleas, camellias, acers and rhododendrons, at their peak in May, now grace the site under a canopy of sweet chestnut, larch and oak, with new plants, including several magnolias, viburnums and amelanchier, having been added recently.
Richard is particularly keen on the overall vision of the garden with its vistas and trees, while Amicia focuses on the details, such as the floral infill of the different garden areas. Both passionately embrace the idea that, with an estate of this size and beauty, it is important to get the balance right with maintaining what exists while also adding interesting new elements. Ensuring the ethos and atmosphere of the Edwardian design is preserved is also paramount. Wandering the areas at a leisurely pace, you do indeed feel the timeless, tranquil nature of the environment.
In high summer to autumn the sunken garden is the star of the show, with its jostle of colour and form. Re-designed by Kirsty Knight Bruce in 2010, the eight beds and borders around a formal pond and the lawn brim with a succession of blooms through the seasons, from massed tulips, through alliums and roses to a wide variety of herbaceous plants late in the season, at their best currently. Ideas abound to inspire for your own garden’s summer choices.
'My favourite planting combinations in the Sunken Garden late summer are the following: a selection of dahlias including ‘Eefje’, ‘Teesbrooke Audrey’ and ‘Imagine’, Stipa gigantea, Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Purity’, Asters, Penstemon ‘Twizzle Scarlet’, Althaea cannabina, and Phlox paniculata ‘Franz Schubert,' enthuses Amicia. The naturalistic planting is tall, ethereal and translucent, especially as sunlight or the slightest breeze enlivens the scene further, combining both contemporary styles from the likes of Piet Oudolf of the New Perennial Movement with the Arts and Crafts intent of the past. 'The mood changes subtly every week, akin to a kaleidoscope,' says Amicia.
To know
Doddington Place Gardens
Doddington, nr Sittingbourne, ME9 0BB
Open April 1 to September 30
Wednesdays, Sundays and BH Mondays (11-5)
Adm £9, chd £3
Tea-room overlooking the garden serves home-made cakes, teas and coffees
doddingtonplacegardens.co.uk
Also open for the National Garden Scheme on Sunday, September 24
ngs.org.uk
Get the look
• To keep the colour going, include plenty of high- and late-summer choices that cope well with the weather
• Choose good all-rounders, ultra-reliable perennial workhorses and floriferous annuals
• The ‘Chelsea chop’ and regular deadheading will keep plants flowering all through summer into autumn
• Look for perennials with the RHS Award of Merit as they will perform reliably
• Choose plants that suit your conditions
• Tie in and support taller flowering plants
• Add decorative foliage plants in any gaps
Amicia’s top tips – the best ‘good-doers’
• Dahlias, as they just need regular deadheading and go on and on
• Ornamental grasses come into their own in late summer/early autumn
• Dot Verbena bonariensis around, good for adding wavy structure and rich colour
• Cosmos (an annual) in any colour, as long as someone can be bothered to deadhead them. They are such pretty, delicate flowers and with elegant foliage that adds interest to any border or container. Plus they have a good, long -flowering season.
• Penstemons are also good-doers, sometimes still flowering in December.
• Zinnias (an annual) are a jolly addition to any garden – the flowers come in zingy knock-out shades of orange, pink and claret.
• Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ adds a luscious voluptuous note and looks good long after the white has faded.
• Anthemis – we use Sauce Hollandaise. Good long flowering season, provide a mass of colour and will flower again if cutback.
