Great Comp

Spent a few hours visiting the gardens of Great Comp near the village of Platt in Kent. There are 7 acres of beautiful and rare plants surrounding a 17th manor house. The azaleas and rhododendrons were full of very colourful flowers and I loved the informality of this planting which contrasted well to the more formal Italianite gardens and the fake ruins. In the wild gardens I was pleased to see weeds sprouting everywhere. I spend such a long time removing our weeds which spring up again immediately, so it was good to see them encouraged at Great Comp.

We had a light lunch sitting in the walled garden of the Old Dairy Tearooms. The sun was out but there has been a chilly breeze today.

The gardens were opened to the public 50 years ago by Eric and Joy Cameron who moved there in 1957.Joy died in 1992 and Eric passed on in 2009
I recall my first visit to Great Comp in late October, 2008, and was greeted at the ticket office by an elderly Scot sitting in a wheelchair with a tartan rug on his knees. My friend and I were the only visitors on that autumn afternoon. Eric must have enjoyed meeting his visitors and was 91 years old when he died. He has left a wonderful legacy in the charitable trust that he set up, and the current curator - William Dyson - is a Chelsea gold medallist and an expert on salvias.

The gardens and Dyson Nurseries are well worth a visit.