Getting ready for Spring in the Hadlow Estate gardens

Changing weather patterns present a challenge to anyone caring for a garden.

But the team at the Hadlow Estate are working to create a beautiful and productive spring display, using a combination of experience, skill and hard work.

Head gardener Richard Newman works alongside groundsman Paul Skinner, in his second season at Hadlow, and new recruit Ollie Costen, who trained in horticulture at nearby Hadlow College and who works with the Estate gardens team two days a week.

Richard (right), who has been Hadlow’s Head Gardener since October 2018, praised Paul (left) and Ollie’s (centre) contributions to the work of the team.

“They are great guys,” Richard said. “We’ve found that the team really clicks – we work well together. It just feels like it has fallen into place. Paul, who joined the team in May 2022, lives on site, which is very handy for weekend watering…I commute in every day and Ollie is here two days a week at the moment.”

Paul’s main role is as Hadlow groundsman, taking care of the hedges and lawns while Ollie is learning all the time, shadowing the other members of the team and proving himself a great asset, Richard said.

Ollie, 19, first became interested in gardening while helping out on another Kent estate where his mother worked as a housekeeper. During the Covid lockdown, his interest in working outdoors grew stronger and he signed up for the two-year level three horticulture course, with his training supported by the Hadlow Estate.

He said he believed the professional gardening sector offered great opportunities for young people. “It’s definitely something more young people are getting interested in,” he said. “I really enjoy it and I’m learning loads from working with Richard and Paul.”

Ollie said he particularly enjoyed working on gardens at Hadlow’s tenanted properties, where the work of the gardens team could make a significant difference. “We come in and give them a new lease of life – It’s very satisfying to see what can be done,” he added.

The aim is to handover gardens in the best possible condition, to encourage new tenants to take pride in keeping them looking good.

Although Paul’s main duties are as groundsman, taking care of the lawns and hedges, he said they all “mucked in”, as needed, to get everything done. He also looks after the garden at Little Fish Hall. “The biggest challenge this year has been the weather,” he said. “Sometimes it’s been too wet to get on the ground, but we’ve now given the grass cutting a couple of circuits, so we’re on top of things.”

He said it was satisfying working in the more formal gardens – and particularly gratifying preparing gardens in the tenanted properties for new people moving in.

Richard agreed that was a growing part of the team’s work. “We go in and give the place a spruce up when people have moved out and before new tenants move in,” he said.  The aim is to make new properties tidy and welcoming for incoming tenants, both inside and outside.

The team also care for the walled Victorian Garden at Hadlow Place, planted with double borders in a formal style with a white border, dark border and yellow border inspired by the famous gardens at nearby Sissinghurst. “We maintain and look after what’s already here – replacing plants when they get too woody and old,” Richard added.

They bring on flowering plants in the glasshouse, where there are some specimens that are thought to date back over 40 years. Fruit, grown on espaliers in the gardens, include peaches, nectarines and apricots – although it can be a challenge to harvest the ripe fruit before the squirrels and the blackbirds get to the crop, Richard said.

The team also produce vegetables, including peas, beans, potatoes, kale, lettuce, French beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes and cucumbers. “There’s nothing like putting freshly grown vegetables on your table,” he added.

In all the team – who operate part-time – work on five larger properties across the Estate – Little Fish Hall, The Old Laundry, Park Farm Oast, Ivy Lodge and Hadlow Place as well as the tenanted properties when there is a change of tenant.

Extreme conditions including wetter winters and hotter, drier summers are making gardening a challenge across the country, but the Hadlow team are keeping things productive and beautiful as spring and summer approach.

Richard added: “The weather has been terrible! I’m so grateful that we’ve got through winter – it’s been really difficult for us just to get on the land but things are getting better all the time.” 

As for tips for gardeners preparing for spring and summer, he warned there are no short cuts. “We spend the winter getting ready for the growing season,” he said.  “You have to keep on top of things.”