Summer is moving on at a pace as August approaches. This month, Geoff Stonebanks, the National Garden Scheme’s Publicity Officer in East & Mid Sussex has shortlisted a few of the wonderful gardens opening for the scheme across the county for readers to visit. Please also check their website to see a full list of all gardens opening in August.
Geoff says “Do remember that in addition to all the gardens that open on public days, we have over 1100 nationwide that just open by arrangement. Readers should log on to the website and choose the Gardens by Arrangement tab, under the Find A Garden section and make their choice.”
Durrance Manor, Smithers Hill Lane, Shipley, RH13 8PE
Monday 29th August, Midday to 6 pm, entry £6
This 2-acre garden surrounds a Medieval hall house with Horsham stone roof. It enjoys uninterrupted views over a ha-ha of the South Downs and Chanctonbury Ring and is formed of many different gardens. See Japanese-inspired gardens, a large pond, wildflower meadow and orchard, colourful long borders and a vegetable garden. There is also a Monet-style bridge over a pond with water lilies.
https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/19175/durrance-manor
D & S Haus, 41 Torton Hill Road, Arundel, Sussex, BN18 9HF
Saturday 20th August, 1 pm to 5.30 pm, entry £5
This is a lush suburban garden, 25ft x 200ft, which the owners have transformed over the years. Front and rear gardens contain a mass of palms, bananas, bamboos and all manner of spiky and large luxuriant foliage. Here, the rules are not followed, as the delights of colour, shape and texture have driven its design with desert plants next to bog plants, a pond, a stream and a raised flint bed.
https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/36964/d-s-haus
Whitehanger, Marley Lane, Haslemere, Sussex, GU27 3PY
Sundays 7th and 21st August, 10.30 am to 3.30 pm, entry £6.60 both adults and children. All tickets must be pre-booked online
Set in 6 acres on the edge of the South Downs National Park surrounded by National Trust woodland, this rural garden was begun in 2012 when a new Huf house was built on a derelict site. Now surrounded by lawned areas with beds of perennials, a serenity pool with koi carp, a wildflower meadow, a Japanese garden, a sculpture garden, a woodland walk, a large rockery and an exotic walled garden.
https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/32393/whitehanger
Butlers Farmhouse, Butlers Lane, Herstmonceux, BN27 1QH
Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August, 2 pm to 5 pm, entry £5
A lovely rural setting for this 1 acre garden, surrounding a 16th century farmhouse with views of the South Downs. Quite a quirky garden with many surprises around every corner including a rainbow border, small pond, Cornish inspired beach corners, a poison garden, and a secret jungle garden. Picnics are welcome and you can listen to live jazz in the garden too. Plants for sale.
https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/16377/butlers-farmhouse
Kitchenham Farm, Kitchenham Road, Ashburnham, Battle, TN33 9NP
Thursday 4th and Saturday 6th August, 2 pm to 5 pm, entry £5
A 1 acre, country house garden set amongst traditional farm buildings with stunning views over the Sussex countryside. Formed of a series of borders around the house and Oast House. Lawns and mixed herbaceous borders including roses and delphiniums. A ha-ha separates the garden from the fields and sheep. The garden adjoins a working farm.
https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/37338/kitchenham-farm
Malthouse Farm, Streat Lane, Streat, Hassocks, BN6 8SA
Sunday 21st and Wednesday 24th August, 2 pm to 5.30 pm, entry £5
A 5 acre, rural garden with stunning views to the South Downs. The garden is divided into separate rooms; box parterre and borders with glass sculpture, herbaceous and shrub borders, mixed borders for seasonal colour and kitchen garden. The orchard, with newly planted wild flowers, leads to partitioned areas with grass walks, snail mound, birch maze and willow tunnel. There is a wildlife farm pond with planted surround.
https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/22960/malthouse-farm
If you like this post about Sussex NGS gardens, you may also like:
