Cultivation of the modern Kitchen Garden began in the late 1980s by the 11th Duke and Duchess Deborah. However for nearly 500 years, gardens growing food for the house have existed all over the estate. It is likely that the first Duke established productive gardens around 1549. In the mid-1700s the third Duke built walled gardens, versions of which were used all the way up until the 1900s.
The current Kitchen Garden is located to the east of the stables. This ground was originally called the Paddocks because it was where the carriage horses were turned out for a pick of grass.
The greenhouses were already there, but until the early 1990s it was a dreary, featureless patch. The 11th Duke and Duchess Deborah thought that the new enthusiasm for growing fruit and vegetables merited an investment to make the place more interesting and open for all to see.
It was laid out during the winters of 1991/2 and 1992/3. The necessary drains were laid, raised beds were built from old bricks and some new paths were bordered with railway sleepers. Iron arches were installed to support fruit trees.
All manner of fruit, salad, cut flowers and vegetables are grown here, including mummy peas, allegedly grown from peas discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. The house is supplied with produce from the Kitchen Garden and surplus is sold in the stable yard and farm shop.
Beyond a beech hedge at the lower part of the garden is a small orchard. Here we grow a range of fruit bred in Derbyshire, including the apple variety Beeley Pippin.
Discover more from the modern garden
Ravine and Azalea Dell
In the early 1930s, the 9th Duke’s wife, Evelyn, in collaboration with the head gardener, J. G. Weston, created the Ravine and the Azalea Dell in the south of the garden.
Rose Garden
Originally the French Garden, in 1939 Duchess Mary, wife of the 10th Duke, remodelled this area and it became known as the Rose Garden.
Serpentine Hedges
The Serpentine Hedges were created from an idea of Duchess Deborah's.
Display Greenhouse
This greenhouse is sited to the north of the First Duke's Greenhouse and has three climate zones: tropical, Mediterranean and temperate.
The Maze
Originally the site for Paxton's Great Conservatory, this garden is now home to a large yew maze.
Snake Terrace
In 1974, the Snake Terrace was constructed in the space between the First Duke's Greenhouse and the Display House.
Sensory Garden
The Sensory Garden was an idea instigated by Lord Burlington, the 12th Duke's son.
Quebec
In 2008, the 12th Duke and Duchess re-established Quebec, a long-over-grown area below the Canal Pond.
Summer House and Golden Grove
Near the Summer House is a plot planted in gold and yellow – the Golden Grove. All the shrubs and small trees here were given by friends and neighbours of the 11th Duke and Duchess to mark their golden wedding in 1991.
Cottage Garden
The Cottage Garden was created in 1989 with topiary 'rooms' and 'furniture' created out of box, privet and yew hedges.
Arcadia
The 12th Duke and Duchess, working with the Chatsworth Garden team and three celebrated garden designers, oversaw the biggest transformation of the garden for 200 years, including a brand new landscape project: Arcadia.
Learn about the early garden
The house and garden were first constructed by Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick in 1555. The Elizabethan garden was much smaller than the modern garden is now.
Discover the 6th Duke's Garden
The 6th Duke, working with renowned gardener Joseph Paxton, made radical and pioneering changes to the Chatsworth Garden and Estate.
