Iden Croft Herbs

Iden Croft Herbs

Iden Croft Herbs
Frittenden Road
Staplehurst
Maidstone
Kent
TN12 0DH

Tel: 01580 891 432
Fax: 01580 892 416
E-Mail: idencroftherbs@yahoo.co.uk

Web: Iden Croft Herbs

About Iden Croft Herbs

Designed to be enjoyed by visitors from early spring into late autumn, our themed herb gardens have developed and matured over the years. You can follow the winding paths down through the gardens where you arrive at the Victorian walled garden. There are plenty of seats here so why not take the weight off your feet for a while and just relax.

We hold three full status NCCPG National collections: Mentha, Nepeta (spp) and Origanum all of which are on view in the gardens for you to enjoy and we continue to work closely with the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens to develop the collections further.

The nursery holds an extensive range of culinary & medicinal herbs, a choice selection of perennials, grasses and native wildflowers, rare treasures from the national collections, heritage herbs and new introductions.

The Gardens

The gardens came into being about 40 years ago in the derelict kitchen gardens of Staplehurst Manor. The original concept was to show both visitors and customers how herbs and aromatic plants could be integrated into their gardens and borders as well as in a more formal herb garden. This ethos holds as true today as it did in the beginning.

We garden organically and as a result the gardens enjoy a natural balance and are full of wildlife. If you sit quietly you may spot some of the regular visitors from stoats and badgers to the myriad of insects and birds that fill the gardens with movement and sound.

From local research it is now believed that the walled garden is early Victorian and was possibly built from locally manufactured bricks. It was once part of the estate of Staplehurst Manor producing vine and soft fruit for the big house. The doorways are original and the central door space was the size to accommodate a Wealden cart allowing produce to be taken up to the Manor.You can still see some remnants of horse drawn agricultural machinery and tools in various parts of the gardens

As you look around the gardens you will see examples of dressed stonework being used as features in the herb beds and there are large pieces of masonry behind the walled garden too. These are thought to have formed part of the buildings belonging to the Augustine order of Friars from Canterbury as some of this area was owned by them from about the 11th century. It is fascinating to think that somewhere closeby there may have been a monastic building - a challenge for Timeteam perhaps!

The walled garden has had a varied and productive past, evolving over the years from a kitchen garden to supplying strawberries for Wimbledon fortnight and rosemary sprigs for Marks & Spencers ready meals but now it is a peaceful secret garden - an ideal place for you to sit, relax and leave the outside world behind for a few hours.

The themed herb gardens are designed to combine the essence of a traditional English garden with creative design to show you how herbs can be grown in a garden setting in their own right and not just in a formal herb garden. The gardens are linked by winding paths so you can wander through one into another ultimately leading to the walled garden

The Shakespearean garden Did you know that within the complete works of Shakespeare over 130 herbs are mentioned? No other poet or playwright has made so many references to plants and it gives an intriguing insight into Shakespeare's knowledge and love of the plant world. This lovely informal border holds many of those herb