This month we have spent considerable amount of time preparing for the half term Halloween Open Day. It’s only the second time we have opened the garden this year, but it good practice for next year where we will be open once a month from March till November. Aside from the team working hard to weed all the paths, edge the lawns, tidy flowerbeds and finish cutting the meadows, time has been spent setting out and creating the ghost trail with twelve suitable spooky plants being chosen, plus sourcing and arranging pumpkins to go around our autumn pot displays in Read More
Blog
Splashes of Autumn: A Colourful September in the Garden
It’s been a very colourful month. The weather has been mild and warm, and many plants and flower beds that were looking tired last month, are now resprouting and gaining a second flush of leaf and flower, especially the meadows and lawns. Half of the meadows in the garden were cut mid-August and the rest in September. In the Walled Garden Currently the Walled Garden is full of a variety of pumpkins and squashes. Dried and lifted onions and garlic can be seen drying in the glasshouse. Cucumbers and tomatoes are still being harvested, even some late potatoes. Purple sprouting Read More
Head Gardener’s August Blog
This month we were really pleased to open Fairlight Hall Gardens to raise money for the National Garden Scheme. We opened on the weekend of 19th/20th August. This was our first garden opening for 2023 and it was very successful. Visitors were welcomed on both days by sun and blue skies. We had a pop up café and a shop selling Fairlight Hall honey, jams and chutneys, vegetables and of course, our plants and flowers. It was great to see so many people enjoying the garden together, to help raise money for the National Garden Schemes selected charities. In fact Read More
Head Gardener’s July Blog
It has been a while since I have written a garden blog. These past three months, have been a bit of a whirlwind in the gardens. The gardeners were playing catch up from the unseasonably cool spring, and for much of the past two or three months the garden received very little decent rain for two or three months. So as you can imagine everything was much reduced in size and not at its full magnificence. The garden team had been working together towards to deadline; a large family wedding in early July was all anyone was focusing on. Thankfully Read More
Head Gardener’s April Blog
What a cold, damp start to the year, across our garden everything is so slow to start. Last year we were a full month ahead. Normally this time of year our kitchen garden is producing well, would be producing a bounty of Asparagus, spring onions, spring cabbage, purple sprouting broccoli, but this year only leafy veg, a leeks and the remnants of last year’s squashes are available, but the cold and damp weather has held everything back. Luckily things are on the turn and we are seeing some warmer weather on the horizon. This month the team have undertaken two Read More
The Oldie Magazine Literary Lunch
On Wednesday 26 April, we hosted our first Literary Lunch organised by The Oldie Magazine. Over 150 guests enjoyed listening to three fantastic authors including Craig Brown, Marry Killen and GIles Wood and Harry Mount. All profits from the event have been donated to the Conquest Hospital. Below is a selection of images by Peter Mould www.stagesnaps.com Read More
Head Gardener’s March Blog
We are now in March, the leaf clearance has come to an end and we are looking forwards to spring. It’s been a very mild winter, little sign of frost and relatively dry to. There are signs of spring are everywhere. Mass plantings of Narcissus ‘February Gold’ and snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) can be seen along the entrance driveway making impressive sight. Two flowering trees also stand out in the garden Cornus mas Cornelian Cherry a small tree that is smothered in tidy yellow flowers and the pale pink winter flowering cherry Prunus autumnalis planted as part Queen Jubilee tree plantings. Read More
Latest news from Fairlight Hall RDA
Click on the link below to read the Fairlight Hall RDA latest newsletter. Winter 2022 Fairlight Hall RDA Newsletter Read More
Job Vacancy: Senior Grounds Keeper
A fantastic opportunity for the role senior Grounds Keeper at Fairlight Hall Gardens, not far from Hastings. The gardens are situated within the 90 acre estate, and is located just outside Hastings and commands impressive views over the English Channel and along the south coast. This fine and busy garden run on organic principles is home to a variety of beautiful and interesting flower borders, impressive kitchen garden, various lawns, lakes, and woodland and wildflower areas. The garden is well stocked and equipped which makes for the ideal garden to work in and is home to a friendly team of Read More
Meet our new Head Gardener Matthew Brewer
We are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Head Gardener Matthew Brewer who joins us at the beginning of next November. Following a happy four years, we say farewell to John Myers and wish him well in his new role at Ham House in Richmond. Matthew comes to us following his superb stewardship as Head Gardener at Marwood Hill Gardens, Devon, which culminated this Summer in a Gold Medal Award at the Hampton Court Flower Show – the best Plant Heritage Exhibit, showcasing the national collection of Astilbes at Marwood Hill. He is an horticulture graduate of Writtle Read More