Garden Visit | Autumn Splendours in West Sussex - Garden Museum

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Garden Visit | Autumn Splendours in West Sussex

Sussex Prairie, Henfield and Parsonage Farm, Kirdford

For many, Sussex Prairie Garden will need no introduction. The Garden Museum’s last visit was 10 years ago. The stunning creation of owners Paul and Pauline McBride was opened in 2009, only one year after planting. This followed meticulous planning and the help of a host of friends. Inspired by their time working in Luxembourg with the world renowned Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf, Paul and Pauline have put their own very British twist on the Dutch new wave perennial style of planting. This is Britain’s largest prairie garden with eight acres to explore. It will be at its glorious peak in September.

On arrival at 10am, we will be offered refreshments and a warm welcome from Pauline who will give a talk about the transformation of her family farm. We will then be free to explore. Do stop to admire from the outside the McBride’s home – a superb Dutch Barn that was shortlisted for the Grand Designs House of the Year in 2022.

The main garden is laid out in a spiralling nautilus shell shape, which feels like a series of crescents. The borders are wide, but informal bark paths run through the beds allowing you to explore and brush against banks of tall perennials. There are lots of familiar late summer plants here – Penstemon, Echinachea, Red Hot Pokers, grasses – but also many less familiar species.

The planting consists of large groupings of single varieties. These are laid out in a free flowing style, contrasting leaf forms, stems, stalks, flower shapes and textures. Colours are soft and muted, and complement the natural landscape.

We will leave at 12.10pm for the short trip to Bolney Wine Estate for lunch. Our two course lunch will take place in a private dining room. There will be a vegetarian option and a glass of Estate wine is included.

Please be ready at 1.50pm to get back on the coach which will leave Bolney at 2pm for the 40 minute ride to Parsonage Farm.

Parsonage Farm has been home to David and Victoria Thomas for over 30 years. We will gather in their eighteenth-century barn at 2.45pm to meet Victoria and Glen Welfare, head gardener. They will give us a talk and tour of the garden.

The garden’s design is based on the 18th century concept of ferme ornée – or ornamental farm – with a large lake in a parkland style setting at the front of the house and more formal gardens behind. There are walks and vistas stretching out into the fields and woodlands. The 7 acre garden features tall yew hedges which divide it into a number of formal and informal areas, planted with carefully chosen colour themes and unusual plants. The many avenues include a pleached lime allée, hedges on stilts, lollipops and a line of beautiful tulip trees. Holm oaks, underplanted with mahonia, lead up to a grand grass amphitheatre.

Fruit trees are planted in every area of the garden and include many heritage and unusual varieties. There is a three-quarter acre soft fruit, vegetable and cutting garden. In September the garden will delight us with its ‘mellow fruitfulness’.

After our visit we will return to the barn for tea and homemade cake. Please be ready to board the coach at 4.40pm.

This event has been organised by the Garden Museum’s Garden Visits Committee. We recommend you read our Garden Visits Attendee Charter and Refund/exchange policy before booking your place on any of our Garden Visits.

Image: Sussex Prairie Garden Photo by Marianne Majerus