Fordcombe Open Gardens

Information about the event:

This year there are five gardens in Fordcombe for you to visit as a part of Hospice in the Weald Open Gardens scheme.

Tickets can be bought on the day – cash or card welcome

Date & Time:  Saturday 20th June, 2pm – 5pm

Parking: Parking in the field at Willow Barn (limited lane parking) also at Mitre Oast

Admission: £5 Adults & £2 for under 16’s (covering all gardens)

Refreshments: Tea and cakes available at Willow Barn and Mitre Oast

Stalls: Plant stall, preserve stall and art and craft stall at Willow Barn.

Wheelchair access: Partial access to most gardens.

Dogs allowed: Dogs on lead

Description:  On arrival, please head to Willow Barn, Poundsbridge Lane, Fordcombe TN3 0RN to gain your entry ticket and pick up a map showing the locations of the other gardens.

Willow Barn

Poundsbridge Lane, Fordcombe, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0RJ

Willow Barn was transformed into a home in 2023, its gardens lovingly created from what was once rubble and open fields. With a large local deer herd roaming nearby, the grounds have been carefully protected with discreet deer fencing, allowing new planting to flourish. The owners have embraced sustainability at every step; using recycled building materials, creating a swale, using donated plants, and making use of rainwater harvested from the roof and stored in underground tanks for watering.

More recently, the owners have created a vegetable garden with fruit cage and reinstated an orchard based on historic maps of the site. In total, nearly forty trees have been planted across, a mixture of native species and carefully chosen specimen trees. The result is a peaceful, wildlife‑friendly haven where people, animals and insects can thrive together.

Refreshments available: Tea, coffee, cold drinks and cakes will be available in Willow Barn and can be taken to enjoy anywhere in the garden.

Silcocks Farm

Silcocks Farm, Poundsbridge Lane, Fordcombe, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0RJ

Silcocks Farm gardens have been lovingly created from farmland over 55 years by the late owner, who received outstanding care at Hospice in the Weald in 2023.

Mature trees frame beautiful long views across the Kent countryside. This natural and wildlife-friendly garden can be enjoyed from the summer house overlooking the pond.

Refreshments available: Tea, coffee, cold drinks and cakes will be available in Willow Barn and can be taken to enjoy anywhere in the garden.

Little Hickmans

Coopers Lane, Fordcombe, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0RN

A beautiful country garden with well-maintained lawns sweeping down to a large duck pond where Gunnera plants, with their colossal leaves, thrive in the margins. The garden is a tapestry of colours brimming with a diverse array of planting in carefully curated beds and strategically placed pots adding layers of texture and height.

Willow Tree Cottage

Willow Tree Cottage, Coopers Lane, Fordcombe,TN3 0RN

This beautiful cottage garden has appeared in several magazines including “Country Living”. It is a lush vibrant haven overflowing with beautiful flowers, winding paths, boardwalk and terraces with a beautiful naturalistic pond at its heart and stunning views over farmland.

Mitre Oast

Mitre Oast,  Fordcombe Road, Fordcombe, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0RT 

Part of an old hop farm, Mitre Oast is a barn conversion set at the edge of Mitre Farm.  The original listed farmhouse and cottage run along Fordcombe Road.  The oldest part of the house dates from 1650 but the roundels and the large barn were built in the 19th century.

Some residents can remember when the property was used as a chamois leather distribution hub before being converted into a residential house in the 1980’s.

The property sits on approximately 4 acres although much of this  comprises a hay meadow and natural pond.

The garden proper is lawned at the front, so we can benefit from the lovely views over the village of Fordcombe, and there is  fairly traditional cottage style garden to the rear.  We also have a kitchen garden and a small orchard that sits on lawn that is left to grow wild during the summer.

We are fortunate to have inherited a substantial number of mature and impressive trees such as oak, birch, ash, maple and beach as well as ornamental trees like cherry and malus.

We very much encourage wildlife and are happy to allow self-sown plants to flourish as long as they are not too invasive.

We have an area for cars to park on the drive and he gardens call also be accessed from the village through a small gate opposite Tender Meads, as well as the footpath which leads from Fordcombe Lane through what remains of Mitre Farm.

There is seating and we will provide refreshments.  The garden is fairly accessible with a pushchair or sturdy wheelchair.

Pets and children are welcome but must be supervised at all times as there is open water as well as log piles, nettles and other wild plants that should not be touched.