Sussex

West Dean Gardens » A nineteenth century Gothic house, designed by James Wyatt, with a twentieth century Arts and Crafts garden, designed by Harold Peto in 1911. Edward James, who lived here, was a patron of surrealist art. The great feature of West Dean Gardens is a 300' stone pergola with timber beams.The sunken garden has a pond. The kitchen garden and glass houses have been restored. They are excellent and much more interesting than the dull rose collections so often placed in kitchen gardens. There is also a park and woodland garden, in a beautiful valley. Read more on West Dean Gardens

Borde Hill Garden » <p>A late-nineteenth century garden started by a keen horticulturalist. Col. Stephenson Clarke bought the property in 1893. The collection of trees and shrubs is outstanding but there is also an attractive Arts and Crafts garden near the house with terraces and herbaceous planting. Several copses, including Warren Wood and Stone Pits, are planted with exotic trees and shrubs. A restoration grant was made by the Heritage Lottery Fund.</p> Read more on Borde Hill Garden

Nymans Garden » The garden was started by Ludwig Messel in 1890 and looked after by his family after his death. Arthur Hellyer remarked that it is 'a collector's garden, yet it is also a designed garden'. One regrets that the two enthusiasms are rarely combined. There are good collections of magnolias, camellias, eucryphias and heathers. William Robinson advised on the herbaceous borders, which are punctuated with topiary Read more on Nymans Garden

Wakehurst Place Garden » An adapted sixteenth century house with a mainly twentieth century garden. Advertised as 'Kew in the country' Wakehurst Place Garden belongs to the National Trust and is managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens. Aesthetically, it is more pleasing than Kew. As at Bodnant, the ornamental area near the house is in the Arts and Crafts style and the woodland garden is in the picturesque/gardenesque style. It was made by Gerald Loder, a President of the Royal Horticultural Society, after 1903. Like his father and uncle, who lived at Leonardslee, Loder was a rhododendron man. Wakehurst Place Garden was managed by the Price family after 1936 and by the Royal Botanic Gardens after 1965. The woodlands co..... Read more on Wakehurst Place Garden