Where to see snowdrops in Kent in 2024
Published: 05:00, 14 January 2024
Updated: 11:43, 14 January 2024
There’s nothing like hearing frosty grass crunch beneath your feet and spotting the first white snowdrops of the year as you stroll around a winter garden.
If that sounds like your idea of a perfect day out, now is the time to wrap up warm and start visiting Kent’s gardens to see spectacular snowdrops as they spring up all over the county. These are the best places to find them…
Chartwell, Westerham
The family home of former prime minister Winston Churchill will soon see beautiful snowdrops springing up all over its winter gardens. If you visit before Sunday, February 25 you can also catch the new outdoor photography display showing the quirky story behind Churchill’s extravagant birthday cakes.
Details: Open daily from 10am to 4pm. Tickets cost £14, entry is free to National Trust members. Find out more here.
Copton Ash, Faversham
This garden is a labour of love and has a wide collection of plants raised from wild seed, including woodland flowers and, in particular, snowdrops at this time of year.
Details: Open Saturday, February 10 and Sunday, February 18 from 12noon to 4pm. Tickets cost £5. Find out more here.
Doddington Place, Sittingbourne
This 10-acre garden boasts snowdrops in the woodland garden, as well as several stunning features like the Edwardian rock garden, formal garden and yew hedges.
Details: Open Sunday, February 25 from 11am to 5pm. Tickets cost £9. Find out more here.
Fairseat Manor, Sevenoaks
A new garden opening for this year, this two-acre garden sits atop the North Downs with spectacular countryside views. Explore the rows of blossoming spring bulbs, including snowdrops, and the meadow, sunken garden and pond.
Details: Open by arrangement from Saturday, February 10 to Sunday, March 10. Tickets cost £5. Find out more here.
Great Comp Garden, St Mary's Platt
This garden’s annual Snowdrop Sensation event returns in February, with a range of delicate snowdrops available to view and purchase. There will be specialist snowdrop nurseries open during the four-hour showcase and the garden itself will also be open to the public.
Details: Open Sunday, February 18 from 10am to 2pm. Tickets cost £9.50. Find out more here.
Hever Castle, Edenbridge
Take in the spectacular sight of more than 140,000 snowdrops blooming throughout Hever Castle’s award-winning gardens. The snowdrop walk takes visitors through the outer moat and the winter gardens, with facts about the Tudor flower dotted around the grounds.
Details: Open daily from Wednesday, February 7 from 10.30am to 3pm. Garden tickets cost £18.35. Find out more here.
Hole Park, Cranbrook
The Plant Fairs Roadshow, a travelling showcase of speciality blooms from specialist plant nurseries, returns to Hole Park this February. Alongside the unique flowers that will be on display, there will once again be spotlight on snowdrops and some of the gardens on this list, including Copton Ash and Spring Platt, took part in the show last year.
Details: Open Sunday, February 11 from 11am to 3pm. Tickets cost £8. Find out more here.
Knowle Hill Farm, Maidstone
This garden has been carefully curated over almost 40 years. The sloping grounds include wonderful views of the surrounding area, a walled garden, a small pool and, of course, plenty of stunning snowdrops and hellebores.
Details: Saturday, February 3 and Sunday, February 4 from 11am to 3.30pm. Tickets cost £6. Find out more here.
The Old Rectory, Fawkham
This impressive display of more than 130 different snowdrops is set to bloom again this winter, taking over the beautiful natural woodland. While the snowdrop is the star of the show, the Old Rectory also includes hellebores, shrubs, trees and pulmonarias.
Details: Open by arrangement throughout February. Tickets cost £6. Find out more here.
Spring Platt, Maidstone
Admire 500 varieties of snowdrops sprawling out over this one-acre garden. The flowers take over the raised sleeper beds and grass around the garden, which also boasts a vegetable garden, croquet lawn, alpine plants in the greenhouse and views of the Weald.
Details: Open Sunday, January 21; Wednesday, January 24; Sunday, January 28; Thursday, February 1 and Sunday, February 4 from 10.30am to 3pm. Tickets cost £5. Find out more here.
You can also find a full list of spring gardens opening across the county on the National Garden Scheme website.
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Sam Lawrie