Gardens
Arundel Castle current holders of the Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award
We were delighted to win the Historic Houses Garden of the year award in November 2025. Thank you to all of those who voted for us.
Glorious gardens to explore with surprises around each corner
Now is the perfect time to see the Tropical Borders with stunning Canna lilies and Banana trees, chillies in the Tropical House, abundant fruit & vegetables in the Organic Kitchen Garden, magnificent dahlias in bloom in the Cut Flower Garden including Brigita Alida, Vancouver, Labyrinth, White Aster, Crazy Love, Pink Babylon, Purple Haze and Egelhardt as well as wildflowers throughout the landscape and a second flowering in the beautiful English Rose Garden. In the tranquil White Garden of the Fitzalan Chapel there is so much flowering including Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’, white cosmos & scaevola and Cleome ‘Helen Campbell’ (spider plant).
The gardens and landscape are beautiful, inspirational & flow in synergy with the stunning architecture surrounding them. Over the last 20 years the gardens have been transformed led by the Castle’s renowned and highly respected Head Gardener Martin Duncan who’s personal achievement was recognised in 2018 with the award of the Kew Guild Medal.
His team have won numerous awards for the gardens including:
- 2025 Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award
- Champion of Champions 2025, from South & South East In Bloom
- Gold & Category Winner for Walled Garden of the Year 2025 from South & South East In Bloom
- Gold & Category Winner for the Small Conservation Area of the Year 2025 from South & South East In Bloom
- Historic Park & Garden of the Year 2024
- Horticultural Achievement Award 2024, from South & South East In Bloom
- Gold Winner for Small Conservation Area of the Year 2024 for the water gardens from South & South East In Bloom
- Gold for the Walled Gardens from South & South East In Bloom
The extensive 38 acres of gardens and landscape are world renowned and provide visitors with beautiful floral displays throughout the spring, summer and autumn months, with wonderful specimen trees within the landscape and an immense variety of plants throughout the gardens.
The gardens provide one of the most stunning Spring displays in the country including Arundel Castle’s famous Tulip Festival. The garden team have planted over 1.4 million bulbs over the past 12 years, includes narcissus, tulips, alliums and camassias.
As Martin Duncan, Head Gardener says, “Our castle garden team are proud to be a part of history, as well as creating history within these beautiful gardens & landscape".
For further information on the Garden history over the last 25 years click here.
Visitors can choose whether to explore throughout the gardens and landscape or seek out specific areas including the beautiful award winning Tropical Garden, the quirky Stumperies, and the Earl’s Garden with stunning Italianate terraces, water rills and oak domed pergolas plus Oberon's Palace and the recently refurbished Antler Temple.
The Rose Garden with a wonderful selection of scented David Austin Roses, gothic gates, archways, seating to reflect the backdrop of the gothic castle architecture, the tranquil White Garden outside the Fitzalan Chapel, the English Herbaceous Borders in pastel colours that lead visitors to the organic Kitchen Garden with four central crop rotation flowerbeds and an abundance of fruit & vegetables throughout the year.
The Wildflower Garden created with a thatched roundhouse planted with spring bulbs and then sown with annual wildflowers or past the Cut Flower Garden divided into parterre sections and restored Glasshouses including the Vine House, the walls adorned with grape vines and peaches and housing the Castle’s pelargonium collection.
Not to missed are the Water Gardens including the Stew Ponds with over 1,500 water plants, roundhouse and boathouse linked with paths and bridges and opened in 2025 a new Dipping Pond showcasing the biodiversity of pond life and with the perennial wildflowers introduce throughout the landscape attracts butterflies, bees and insects throughout the Castle Gardens.
Pre-booked guided tours of our fabulous gardens are available for groups, please click here for more information.
