Anna Clement's paintings of the garden go on show in the manor house Garden Room, 29 to 31 August. Free to view; garden entry is £10.50 until 1 September.

Great Comp Garden at Platt will host an exhibition of paintings by the Kent artist Anna Clement over the August bank holiday weekend. “From the Garden” runs from Saturday 29 August to Bank Holiday Monday 31 August 2026 in the Garden Room of the garden’s 17th century manor house. (Great Comp Garden, “From the Garden”, art exhibition by Anna Clement)

Many of the paintings on show were made at Great Comp itself. The garden says Clement will be in residence across all three days, so visitors can talk to her about the work and buy pieces directly.

Clement is described by the garden as a self-taught artist based in Kent whose practice “is rooted in a deep and ongoing connection to gardens and the surrounding landscape”. Her paintings, it says, develop through “direct observation, memory, and an intuitive, responsive process”, using layered colour and gestural marks to follow “the rhythms of growth, light and seasonal change”.

What it costs and when to go

The exhibition itself is free to view. You pay only the normal garden admission, and Great Comp members get in free.

Day tickets for 2026 are:

  • Adult (17 and over): £10.50 until 1 September, then £12
  • Disabled, student or Jobseeker’s Allowance: £9.63 until 1 September, then £11
  • Child aged 5 to 17: £3.50 until 1 September, then £4
  • Under 5s: free

The reduced prices are set under the Government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme and run to 1 September, so the bank holiday weekend is the last chance to visit at the lower rate. Tickets can be bought online in advance or at the gate, and the garden takes card payments only. (Great Comp Garden, tickets)

The garden is open daily from 10am to 5pm, including bank holidays, until 31 October. Last admission is 4pm. The Old Dairy Tearoom is open daily from 10am to 4.30pm over the same season. (Great Comp Garden, opening times)

Great Comp is at Comp Lane, Platt, near Sevenoaks, TN15 8QS.

The rest of the garden’s season

The exhibition is the first of five events before Great Comp closes for the winter at the end of October.

Timeline of Great Comp Garden events from the Anna Clement exhibition on 29 to 31 August through to the National Garden Scheme open day on 25 October 2026
Graphic by Sevenoaks Online. Source: Great Comp Garden.
  • Sunday 13 September, 2pm. Autumn guided walk with Anthony Nield, on the garden’s trees.
  • Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September, 10am to 5pm. Focus on Salvias. Great Comp is known for its salvia collection, grown and sold on site by Dyson’s Nurseries.
  • Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, 10am to 5pm. Bulbs ‘n’ Things autumn fair, last admission 4pm.
  • Sunday 25 October, 10am to 5pm. National Garden Scheme open day.

(Great Comp Garden, events)

Great Comp is also an RHS Partner Garden. RHS individual, joint member 1 and life members get free entry in September and October, though not on group bookings, charity days or garden show days.

What it means for visitors

Three practical points if you are planning to go over the weekend:

  1. Nothing needs booking for the exhibition. Turn up during garden opening hours and the Garden Room is included.
  2. Go before 1 September if price matters. Adult entry rises from £10.50 to £12 on that date.
  3. Take a card. Cash is not accepted at the gate.

If you are filling a bank holiday closer to home, our guides to things to do in Sevenoaks and family walks near Sevenoaks cover the free options, and Riverhill Himalayan Gardens is the other big garden on this side of the district.

Sources

Image: Great Comp Garden, photo by Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph Britain and Ireland.