THERE are many good reasons to visit Borde Hill, whatever the time of the year, but the vast collection of magnolias in flower is the chief attraction in March and April. That’s when you will see the skies filled with hundreds of thousands of large, glistening flowers in shades of pink and white, clothing the naked branches of Magnolia campbellii and M. sprengeri—trees as much as 75ft high and more than 100 years old. No fewer than 20 of these magnolias at Borde Hill are acknowledged to be Champion Trees of the British Isles, some for their height and others for the thickness of their trunks. As their spectacular flowering comes to an end, the ground beneath is covered with large petals—technically tepals—so thick and abundant that you cannot avoid treading on them.
The Borde Hill estate runs from east to west along three gentle
