Hever in Bloom, the annual floral festival at Hever Castle near Edenbridge, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a special two-week event. The festival, renowned for its vibrant display of 5,000 roses and a colorful quarter-mile border, has been extended this summer to mark a decade of blossoming beauty.
This year’s celebration features guided tours of the castle’s award-winning gardens, including the romantic Rose Garden, the meticulously designed Italian Garden, and the recently replanted Long Border. Notable highlights include over 5,000 roses in bloom across the estate, the expansive quarter-mile border in Faith’s Garden, and a shrub rose border inspired by Emily Dickinson.
The event will showcase 300 Anne Boleyn roses, a nod to the former English queen who spent her childhood at the castle with her sister Mary. The gardens are also adorned with a variety of spring and summer flowers such as pelargoniums, begonias, salvias, heliotrope, nemesia, and marigolds.
Visitors can enjoy an array of activities during the festival, including botanical gin-tastings, hand-tied floral arrangement workshops, and tours led by the gardening team.
Originally launched in 2013, Hever in Bloom took a hiatus during the Covid pandemic but has since resumed, evolving from the previous Rose Week at the castle.
“It’s wonderful to celebrate a decade of Hever in Bloom this year and to be able to share the incredible floral displays throughout the grounds,” said Head Gardener Neil Miller. “From the vibrant colors of the Rose Garden to the cool greens of the shady Pergola Walk, from the bright bedding in the Italian Garden to the secluded Church Gill where newly planted alpines thrive, the workshops and floral tours will ensure a fortnight to remember.”
