Can you believe it’s August already, where has the summer gone? If you haven’t been out to visit a garden opening for the National Garden Scheme, then maybe this is the month! As usual, Geoff Stonebanks, the scheme’s Publicity Officer in East & Mid Sussex has curated a collection you might like to visit across the county, with input from his colleague in West Sussex, Kate Harrison.
New for 2026: 1 Belton Close, Brighton, BN2 3RY.
Open Sunday 9th and Sunday 23rd from 11am to 5pm with entry £5. Pre-booking essential.
This compact city garden packs texture and colour into a small space. Designed 5 years ago around a bold extension, the garden includes sitting and dining areas, an outdoor kitchen, a rill and ponds, a kitchen garden, and both sun baked and shaded beds. It comes into its own in late summer, with planting that includes grasses, dahlias, perennials, annuals, aeoniums, and climbers.
Mayfield Gardens, Mayfield, TN20 6AB.
Open Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd from 11am to 5pm with entry £7.
Mayfield is a beautiful Wealden village with tearooms, an old pub and many interesting historical connections. The 3 gardens to visit are all within walking distance of the village centre. They vary in size and style with a wide range of shrubs, herbaceous and annual planting and including wildflower meadows, fruit and vegetable plots, mature trees and colourful pot displays. There are far-reaching, panoramic views over the beautiful High Weald.
Tuppenny Barn, Main Road, Southbourne, PO10 8EZ.
Open Saturday 15th from midday to 4pm with entry £6.
An iconic, organic smallholding used as an outdoor classroom to teach children about the environment, sustainability and healthy food. See 2½ acres, featuring a wildlife pond, an orchard with heritage top fruit varieties, two solar poly tunnels, fruit cages, and raised beds for vegetables, herbs and cut flowers. Willow provides natural arches and wind breaks. There’s a bug hotel and beehives to support vital pollinators.
Butlers Farmhouse, Butlers Lane, Herstmonceux, BN27 1QH.
Open Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd from 2pm to 5pm with entry £8.
‘Quirky and fun’ are two words that pop up in visitors’ comments. Enjoy this 1 acre country garden for yourself, see the secret jungle garden, Cornish-inspired beach corners, rainbow border, and the poison garden. It is all set around a C16 farmhouse in 6 acres of rural Sussex with the South Downs in the distance. Sit and listen to live jazz in the paddock garden, you might like to bring your own chairs. Delicious tea and cakes are available. Sorry no dogs in the garden but they are allowed to walk in the meadow.
Limekiln Farm, Chalvington Road, Chalvington, Hailsham, BN27 3TA.
Open Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th from 2pm to 5pm with entry £8.
The garden was designed in the 1930s when the house was owned by Charles Stewart Taylor, MP for Eastbourne. It has not changed in basic layout since then. The planting aims to reflect the age of the C17 property and original garden design. The house and garden are mentioned in Virginia Woolf’s diaries of 1929, depicting a particular charm and peace that still exists today. Flint walls enclose the main lawn, herbaceous borders and rose garden. See the nepeta lined courtyard, informal pond and specimen trees including a very ancient oak. Visit the new prairie-style garden with grasses and perennials and there’s a Physic garden, with talk at 3pm about medicinal plants.
The Old Vicarage, The Street, Washington, RH20 4AS.
Open Monday 31st from 10am to 5pm with entry £10.
A truly creative garden, nurtured over 35 years to become a visitor favourite. Spanning 3½ acres, it features formal topiary, seasonal borders, a contemporary water sculpture, an Italianate gazebo, specimen and mature trees, a Japanese garden with waterfall and tea house, a large copse with a stream, a stumpery and treehouse (pictured) and a kitchen garden with fruit trees.
Chalk Farm Flowers, Roger’s Lane, Findon, Worthing, BN14 0RE.
Open Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th from 10am to 4.30pm with entry £6.
A sustainable working flower farm, run by two young horticulturalists with a passion for the environment. They are on a mission to spread the word about British grown flowers. A wide range of flowers grown across a 1 acre site. Fresh, chemical free bunches of flowers available. Enjoy refreshments with a view of the flower field.
Findon Place, Findon, Worthing, BN14 0RF.
Open Sunday 23rd from 2pm to 5pm with entry £8.
Stunning grounds and gardens surrounding a Grade II listed Georgian country house, nestled at the foot of the South Downs. The most glorious setting for a tapestry of perennial borders set off by Sussex flint walls. The many charms include a yew allée, cloud pruned trees, espaliered fruit trees, a productive ornamental kitchen garden, rose arbours and arches and a cutting garden.
Bourne Botanicals, The Bourne, Chesterfield Close, Furnace Wood, Felbridge, East Grinstead, RH19 2PY.
Open Thursday 6th and Saturday 15th from 11am to 5pm with entry £8.
Yes, they have some bananas! But that’s not all. There’s giant gunnera, spiky agave and yucca, tetrapanax, bamboo, palm trees, and so many more unusual plants. Featuring their folly, a sunken garden with figs, peaches, canna, colocasia and many frogs. All set in a lush one acre garden with many quirky touches. A very different garden, miss it if you dare.
Shalford House, Square Drive, Kingsley Green, GU27 3LW.
Open Sunday 2nd August from midday to 5pm with entry £10. Pre booking essential.
A garden designer and plantsman’s garden, set in 40 acres, with 10 acres of well-maintained gardens created over 30 years. Featuring various herbaceous borders, ponds, a waterfall lake, and a 120-metre rill. Walled garden, with large Alitex greenhouse, containing hydrangeas, all within a beautiful setting. A further 30 acres with arboretum and lake is perfect for picnics. Flat gravel areas with York stone terrace around the house with access to the main sloping lawns via gently sloping paths.
Look out for next month’s feature on the gardens opening in September. Full details can be found at www.ngs.org.uk
We hope you can get out and visit some of these beautiful gardens. If you’ve enjoyed this post about August NGS Sussex Gardens, you may also like:
