Get out and about in the spring sunshine with a visit to some of the wonderful gardens and estates around Kent

Sissinghurst Castle has just reopened for the year. The castle gained international fame in the 1930s for its unique garden, created by author Vita Sackville-West and her husband Sir Harold Nicolson.

It is divided into small distinct enclosures, including a rose garden, cottage garden, herb garden and the white garden. Surrounding the garden is wonderful open countryside and dense woodland, perfect for strolling, picnicking and dog walking. A new bird hide has been created and improved signs for walks around the estate have been installed.

After looking around the estate, take a piece of Sissinghurst home by choosing from the wide range of plants and homegrown produce for sale.

The garden is open every day from 11am to 5.30pm, and the estate is open from dawn to dusk. Admission £11.90 for adults, £5.80 for children and £30 for a family.

Shake off the winter blues by visiting the gardens at Godinton House, near Ashford.

The 12-acre grounds reopened at the start of the month, and a beautiful display of snowdrops, hellebores and early daffodils are already on show. On a cold afternoon, visitors can warm up in the exotic greenhouse and enjoy a cup of tea and biscuits.

For those in need of some inspiration to make a start on their own garden, a spring pruning and garden tasks workshop will be held on Saturday, March 16, with head gardener Viv Hunt and Hadlow College lecturer Fiona Abrahams.

The duo will offer advice on how to set your garden off to a great start for the year, with topics including pruning shrubs and climbers and preparing the vegetable garden and herbaceous borders. Booking is essential.

Gardens open from 2pm to 5.30pm. Tickets £5. The house itself reopens to the public on March 29. Call 01233 643854.

"There was something of wildness in her nature, something wilful and untamed, something almost fey, which assorts well with this brave old house, with these rich beams, these windows.”

So wrote the critic EV Lucas after visiting Victorian actress Ellen Terry at Smallhythe Place in Tenterden, and this is reflected in the beautiful cottage garden she created. Terry bought the timbered 16th century house in 1899 and lived there for the last 30 years of her life.

The National Trust now looks after the house and grounds, which include a rose garden, orchard, and a small nuttery, wonderful to see at any time of the year.

Smallhythe Place has just reopened for the spring, and is open from 11am to 5pm, from Saturday to Wednesday. Admission is £6.80 for adults, £3.70 for children. Call 01580 762334.

Walmer Castle’s wonderful gardens are the focus of a new tour which will delve into the folklore of flowers and plants, from ancient Celtic superstition to Victorian symbolism.

Flower Folklore and Botanical Symbolism will be led by senior gardener Sue Harris, who will be taking a look at some of the common garden plants used in herbal and traditional medicine. During the tour visitors will also find out about the curious way nature has been weaved into many of our superstitions and how in ancient times, plants, flowers and trees were often endowed with sacred properties and supernatural powers.

Botany became big business in Victorian times and floriculture was everywhere – from decoratively adorning rooms to posies sent with secret messages hidden as ‘flower language’.

Visitors will also be able to hear about the way flowers and foliage from the gardens are used to decorate the castle today.

The tour takes place from 10am to noon on Thursday, March 14. Admission is £20 and includes light refreshments. Booking is essential. Call 01304 364288.