Communiqué du 24 Mars 2014

In the South East of England, Kent is full of open spaces, beautiful homes, quaint villages ... and fabulous gardens. It is not for nothing that it is nicknamed the Garden of England! And to join Kent, nothing easier ... just a little jump across the Channel! With 22 ferry connections a day from Dunkirk or Calais, reaching Dover and Kent with DFDS Seaways has never been easier! So why not take advantage of the spring break, the many bridges in May or just a short weekend to discover, at the best time of the year, the famous English gardens?

__The art of the English garden. __

Subtle colors, shades and spaces, lush and untamed in appearance, the English garden gives pride of place to wild nature and encourages daydream and romance. As in a master's painting, one seeks there the balance of the volumes, the variety and the agreement of the colors and the vegetal matters.

__Some of the most beautiful English gardens. __

Made in the 1930s around the ruins of an Elizabethan mansion, Sissinghurst Castle is one of the most beautiful English gardens created in the 20th century. Of modest size, 2 hectares, its gardens are divided into small enclosed spaces organized around different themes, the white garden, the purple passage, the rose garden, each bursting with color in all seasons.

Seeming straight out of a fairy tale, Leeds Castle is one of the most attractive medieval castles in England. It is surrounded by a natural lake and 200 hectares of parks and gardens designed in the early 18th century. The labyrinth of yew trees is remarkable and contains an underground cave. The castle also has a golf course and the park is home to more than thirty species of waterfowl.

__Penthurst Place __and its gardens offer a romantic setting. Planted in 1346 and restored in 1851 Penthurst Place and its gardens have retained a typical Elizabethan style. Yarrow hedges separate gardens and orchards into small spaces with distinct character, with many varieties of perennial or herbaceous plants and more than 2000 roses.

Emmetts'Garden is an informal Victorian garden perched on a hill over 200 meters high, offering one of the highest views of Kent on the High Weal. This wonderful garden planted in the late nineteenth century, is home to many rare and exotic trees and shrubs from around the world, including a giant sequoia 30 meters high. There is also a small pine forest, an alpine garden and a traditional rose garden.