Great Comp Garden

About the garden

Owned by

Great Comp CIO

Set in undulating countryside in the heart of the Garden of England, Great Comp Garden has built up an enviable reputation among garden lovers as one of the finest gardens in the South East.     

In spring the garden erupts into bloom with numerous magnolias, azaleas and rhododendrons, under-planted with large drifts of hellebores and bulbs while summer brings warmth and extravagance from the rich and fiery colours of dahlias, kniphofias, crocosmias and fuchsias; these are punctuated with ornamental grasses in great variety.      

The garden is home to one of the finest collection of salvias in Europe, cultivated by the garden's RHS award-winning curator William Dyson, who is the UK’s leading salvia expert. The garden was originally created by Roderick and Joyce Cameron who moved to Great Comp in 1957 and filled the garden with conifers, azaleas, heathers, camellia glades and follies/ruins. Set against the beautiful backdrop of a 17th-century manor house, the garden also holds popular events including specialist plant fairs, outdoor theatre, art and music events.     

After exploring the Italian Garden and marvelling at the borders surrounding the formal lawn, the Old Dairy Tearooms provide a wonderful stop-off point for lunch or a cream tea. Dyson’s Nurseries offers a range of salvias, and a selection of hardy and half hardy plants.