Hole Park Celebrates Silver Milestone While Bidding for Gold in Garden of the Year Competition

Nurturing Talent

Before joining Hole Park, passionate plantsman Quentin spent eight years working for the Crown Estates, including the Crown nurseries where he honed his propagation skills. He now uses these skills throughout the gardens as well as passing them on to the next generation of gardeners who come to work at Hole Park via the WRAG Scheme (Work and Retrain As a Gardener Scheme) or attend his hands-on visitor workshops**

Quentin runs worshops to pass on his skills 

Along with Hole Park's current custodians, Edward and Clare Barham, and the full garden team, Quentin will be hoping that they can crown his Silver Jubilee year with the 2025 Garden of the Year title, after becoming a finalist for the first time. The winner is decided entirely via an online vote, open to all members of the public, which closes on 31st August, at: https://www.historichouses.org/vote-goya/ The result will be revealed in November.



Quentin's mother had also worked at Hole Park, so becoming Head Gardener in 2000 was very much a poignant family moment.

Whilst nurturing the garden that Colonel Arthur Barham created, he is proud of the evolution he has helped to bring about over the last 25 years as a result of the significant investment of both time and resources, sympathetically reshaping spaces and broadening the varieties of plant genus and species.

"I enjoy trying out new ideas. A few years ago, I introduced a tropical border to see how that might thrive in the UK climate and it's doing really well. I can now pass on this experience in plant workshops."

"Above all, though, I make sure that we remain true to the Colonel's aim to provide a place of beauty and peace for both the Barham family and visitors." 

Quentin's personal highlight over the last two and a half decades has been the Centenary Garden project, which was created in 2023 by the in-house garden team to celebrate 100 years since Col Barham completed his original plan.

Says Quentin: "There is always something new coming into bloom as the seasons progress and it is heartening to see how much pleasure it brings to staff and our many visitors as the border displays change shape and colour month by month and even week by week."

Nurturing new talent is also a task which Quentin undertakes with pride, having supported the WRAG Scheme for the past eight years. Recently Quentin and his team mentored WRAGS apprentice and former-civil servant Jane Eastwood to develop her practical gardening and design skills, an experience which Quentin describes as "very rewarding and positive". This led to Jane creating a new design for Hole Park's own Italian-style Millennium Garden and gaining a coveted show border spot at Gardeners World Live in June for which she was awarded a silver medal.

Hole Park is open to the public on Wednesdays and Thursdays from now until the end of October, with the addition of Sundays during October, to enable the public to enjoy its spectacular display of Autumn colour.

Further Information:
 

*Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award

The prestigious national award, presented annually since 1984 and sponsored by Christies, is designed to recognise the importance of some of the country's most spectacular gardens with outstanding horticultural and public appeal. There are seven finalists this year in the nationwide shortlist, following initial assessment by a panel of judges.
 

** Quentin's next gardening workshop, covering tree and shrub propagation, takes place on Wednesday 29 October. Book online at www.holepark.com
 

WRAG Scheme (Work and Retrain As a Gardener Scheme)

The scheme was launched in 1993 to provide paid, part-time, practical horticultural training. The trainee works for 12-14 hours a week for the whole year, in a carefully sourced garden, under the instruction of the garden owner or head gardener.
 

About Hole Park

Set in 200 acres of classic English parkland, Hole Park is a hidden gem of the High Weald National Landscape. It has been owned by the Barham family for the past four generations, having been purchased as a family home by Edward Barham's Great Grandfather, Colonel Arthur Barham, in 1911. In the mid-1920s the Colonel made the bold decision to share the beauty of his recently-created gardens, by opening them to the public: a tradition that is maintained to the present day. Over the decades, each succeeding generation has improved and innovated the layout and planting in the gardens.
 

The current custodians, Edward and Clare Barham, moved into Hole Park with their three children and dogs in 2003. Since then, they have undertaken a comprehensive re-planting programme of the garden which reflects and enhances the Colonel's original plans from the 1920s. Edward and Clare both take an active role in managing the gardens. This includes public opening days, so they are often found selling tickets in front of the house, serving in the Tea Room or walking their dogs around the gardens.
 

Hole Park is open daily 11am to 6pm from the beginning of April until the end of June, and on Wednesdays and Thursdays during July, August and September. Sundays are added during October when the gardens close at 4pm (dusk). The gardens are completely closed from November to April every year.