Arundel Castle Gardens

Thursday 27 June 2024

On 27 June, MPG members were treated to a guided tour of the gardens at Arundel Castle, West Sussex, by Martin Duncan, the head gardener.  Martin was exceptionally generous with his time and gave a highly informative and entertaining explanation of how the gardens were created and maintained for public display, and the role of the Arundel Castle Trust.

Arundel Castle is a picturesque, well preserved Norman castle, founded by William the Conqueror in 1067, combined with an extensive Victorian country house, a masterpiece of 19th-century Gothic.  The buildings provide a dramatic setting for diverse gardens, reflecting the changing needs and tastes of the Fitzalan and Howard families who have owned the Arundel estate for almost 1000 years.

The guided tour covered the Collector Earl’s Garden and Walled Gardens but, on the walk from the main entrance, there were three other plantings:

  1. Wildflowers, trees and shrubs beneath the castle walls and towers
  2. The rose garden in a formal setting on the site of a medieval bowling green
  3. The Fitzalan Chapel Garden.

The Fitzalan Chapel Garden

This intimate garden creates a calm environment centred around a canopy of four palm trees above a square raised pool and fountain.  The chapel itself was built in 1380 as a perpetual chantry, following a medieval Christian belief that liturgies after death can help atone for past misdeeds and obtain eternal peace for the deceased.  Visitors today can experience a sober and reflective atmosphere beside the marble tombs and effigies of former Earls of Arundel and Dukes of Norfolk, which complements the restful spirit of the garden outside.

The Collector Earl’s Garden

Martin Duncan met us at the tea terrace in the Collector Earl’s Garden.  He explained that the garden was opened by Charles, Prince of Wales, in 2008 and is a lighthearted tribute to Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel (1585-1646), who was known as “The Collector” because of his expert acquisition of books, art and antiques, a collection which rivalled that of King Charles I.

The garden is designed as an “imaginative recreation” of Howard’s London town house, Arundel House, which overlooked the River Thames.  Water, rivulets, and fountains are important in linking the pavilions and planting and there is a steady supply from local springs.  The water is treated with blue dye to suppress algae and is surprisingly attractive in providing a heightened intensity to the plant colours.

Inigo Jones’ designs for Arundel House are the inspiration for the pavilions, fountains and gateways of the garden.  There is an Antler Temple, decorated with deer antlers, and two large domed pergolas, based on those seen in the background of Mytens’ painting of Thomas’ wife, Aletheia, Countess of Arundel.  The line of the waterflow leads to a lower level, across an expansive turf maze, edged by Tropical Boarders, to Oberon’s Palace on a raised mound.  This elaborate building is a 21st-century take on a spectacle designed by Inigo Jones for Prince Henry’s masque on New Year’s Day 1611.  It contains a shell-lined bower and a fountain supporting a coronet “dancing” on a moving jet of water.

 

Green oak has been used for much of the construction.  Now weathered and worn in places, the green oak gives a strong rustic element and frames some very thoughtful planting.  As we went round the garden, Martin Duncan mentioned numerous interesting plants. Some examples we noted were:

  1. Agapanthus umbellatus ‘Ovatus’ – Evergreen perennial with large blue flowers
  2. Scaevola aemula ‘Bombay Pink’ – Evergreen perennial with almost succulent coarsely toothed leaves. Originally from Australia, used as a trailing plant.
  3. Paulownia kawakamii ‘Sapphire Dragon Tree’ – Stunning tree from Taiwan with large violet flowers in spring before the leaves appear.
  4. Paulownia tomentosa ‘Princess Tree’ – The Foxglove Tree named from the flower form. Apparently much appreciated in Japan and given as a Wedding gift or planted to mark the birth of a daughter.
  5. Canna indica ‘Russian Red’ – Architectural plant with large banana-like dark red leaves.
  6. Canna iridiflora – Another striking plant with broad oval blue green leaves and bright pink trumpet shaped flowers. Arundel usually has a mild winter, but caution suggests that these cannas should be lifted for winter elsewhere.

 

The Arundel Estate is primarily a light, chalk-based soil and so very alkaline.  Martin Duncan noted that, when he arrived, he cancelled the order for mushroom compost!  The main soil improvers used now are well rotted farmyard manure and green waste compost.

 

The planting rotates throughout the years and Martin Duncan noted particularly the purchase of 130,000 tulip bulbs each year for the Arundel Tulip Festival in mid-April to May.

 

The walled gardens

Arundel Cathedral provides a striking backdrop to the walled gardens.  There are herbaceous borders, a stumpery, a wildflower garden, an organic kitchen garden, a tropical and a Victorian glasshouse and a cut -flower garden. We found the plantings well thought out and interesting.

  • The stumpery was inspired by the one at Highgrove. It consists of sweet chestnut stumps of varying heights and its colours reference different parts of the gardens.  The bright pink blooms of Silene dioca ‘Red Campion’ showed well against the stumps.
  • The organic garden illustrates the principle that “if the soil is right, then everything else follows.” An interesting point is that heavy rain takes out useful trace elements, so ground Scottish granite is used to balance the soil and avoid a boom/bust growth cycle.
  • Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’ is used as a pollinator and dividing hedge and preferred to Verbena ‘rigida’. It responds well to being cut back mid-year to stimulate further flowering.

The other gardens  

After the walled gardens, we saw the gardeners’ work area, the private garden and the space between the castle and the walled gardens, which was planted in the 19th century with imported trees and shrubs.  The end of the tour took us to the dry moat under the walls of the castle, which has attractive grasses, wildflowers in the battlements, and some bee orchids.

After the guided tour, many members also visited Arundel Castle itself, which has ornate state rooms and one of the finest libraries in private hands. Several also visited other gardens in the grounds, such as the stew ponds, which were dug out for fish in 1635, and the water gardens.

Thanks to Briony Marriott for organising this visit.

Text and images by Jonathan Whiticar