Emmetts is a 4 acre garden and arboretum standing
at the highest point in Kent on the 600-foot sandstone ridge. The informal garden was once thickly screened by trees but the great
storm of 1987 felled great 80-foot oaks and beeches crowning the hill and opened up
wonderful views over the Weald as far as the North Downs to the north and Crowborough
Beacon to the south.
The estate was purchased by the banker Frederick Lubbock in
the late 19th century and he created the garden between 1893 and 1895. The Shrub
Garden was planted in 1900 - 1908. Lubbock's love of trees and shrubs was inspired
by his friendship with the great gardener William Robinson.
The arboretum on the shoulder of the ridge could well have
been laid out by Robinson. Here there are beautifully positioned mature trees and
shrubs, including numerous varieties of rhododendrons and camellias and exotic specimens
such as the Bhutan pine, the handkerchief tree, the Chinese ginkgo and the Japanese
maple.
In the spring the glades are carpeted with daffodils and in
the autumn, when the foliage of the differing trees and shrubs mix their various hues, the
arboretum is an enchanting place.
Laid out beside the austere Victorian house is the formal
rose garden which provides summer colour. The garden is set around a central
fountain has old-fashioned varieties in white, pink and crimson.
The more intimate rock garden has recently been
restored. The slabs of Cumbrian limestone are planted with rhododendrons, dwarf
pines, maples and tree heathers and a little waterfall splashes down into a lily pond.
Emmetts Garden is now in the care of the National Trust.
Beside the garden is a deep wooded valley which is part of the Trust's 300-acre
estate here.
The valley falls sharply away from the arboretum and a
contoured path leads down from Emmetts into the upper wood. In the spring this wood
is flooded with bluebells. Altogether 18 acres of garden and woodlands are open to
the public. |