West Dean Gardens

21 comments

During Mental Health Awareness week, these gardens open free of charge so we took advantage of that yesterday.

The sun was shining brightly, a 40 minute drive was lovely when we were heading North of Chichester as the country road goes past Goodwood Motor Circuit, The Weald and Downland Living Museum (now known to a lot of people from The Repair Shop TV programme), Goodwood Horse Racing too.

I took many photos so please enjoy them, with a little text for information here and there.

Inside this building there were many garden books and publications.

The Sunken Garden reopened in Spring 2014 after a 6 year period of restoration and in July 2014 was awarded a Sussex Heritage Trust Award in the Landscape and Gardens category.

Leaving here we then took the steps up to the 100 metres long pergola. This needed extensive restoration following the 1987 storm.
Running East-West, the gazebo at the West end features a mosaic floor.

The Wisteria at the West end is shorter and seemed to have a stronger scent.

The mosaic floor comprises knapped flints interspersed with horses molars.

Time for a rest on a bench where the Gingko tree provided some shade.

A young Gingko tree was wrapped at the base, possibly to prevent Rabbit damage?

Off walking again…

Gardeners at work.

I wasn’t tempted to book a course, but the leaflets were interesting some folk.

If anyone is still reading this, we are heading round to the Walled Garden and the glasshouses now!

The Walled Garden has had over 100 varieties of Apple and 45 of Pear. There are 13 working Victorian glasshouses, but I was flagging in the heat so they’re to visit another time! Thank goodness, I hear you cry!

Almost finished, just need to visit the plant sale area and take a photo of these cuties.

I bought a Knautia macedonica or £6.

Thanks for looking in, I hope you enjoyed West Dean Gardens, even though we only walked around about two-thirds, ran out of energy!

15 May, 2025
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Comments

Sheilabub

An excellent tour Shirley - thank you for taking the trouble to share this lovely place. I do remember the horses' molars in the mosaic at the end of the pergola! You live in a perfect area for interesting days out :)

15 May, 2025

Shirley_tulip

Sheila, thank goodness we chose yesterday for our visit as it has turned really grey and chilly today!

We do have many places to visit with not too much driving, that's for sure, but it is such a shame at the hundreds of homes being built locally.

This week The Body Shop headquarters in Littlehampton is being demolished, a fine pagoda style building in the heyday of Anita Roddick. A retail park is planned for the site.

15 May, 2025

Cottagekare..

Astrantia and Geum..what a lovely combination! I also love that hand-woven obelisk. I must learn how to do this one day as they make such lovely supports for roses!

15 May, 2025

Balcony

WOW! Shirley what a wonderful collection of pictures of your day out at West Dean gardens you must have had yesterday! So many of the plants look wonderful but the Wisteria pergola was the "cherry on the cake", what a wonderful sight to behold!!! :) Thanks for sharing so many pictures with us! :)

15 May, 2025

Meadowland

This is the sort of blog I enjoy reading,thanks Shirley for taking the time to write it not to mention the technical difficulties you experienced. As Sheila said you are spoilt for choice of places to visit.

16 May, 2025

Grandad_gar..

Thanks for the pictures & reminding me about the walled gardens, they were my favourite bit TBH
They gave me the inspiration to try my hand at training an apple Espalier style

They do hold various "fairs / festivals" there, ideal for enthusiasts & the curious.
I saw the Gardeners Word team filming during a Tomato festival

16 May, 2025

Shirley_tulip

Karen, I too loved the Astrantia with Geum planting.

David, thanks so much for your kind words and pleased you enjoyed the tour round.

Yes Julia, we do have a varied selection of places to visit in our retirement!

Ooh Grandad, were you successful with the espalier planting? The most well known event is the Chilli festival ... but that's definitely not for me!

16 May, 2025

Klahanie_

Looks like an interesting place Shirley. Lots of lovely pictures . I love all of them. A great variety of plants and views. Lovely place to visit.

16 May, 2025

Shirley_tulip

Thanks Klahanie, there is so much more that I didn't take photos of, waterways etc., but that's for another visit!

18 May, 2025

Balcony

I may be making a blog - it's been an awful long time since I did one last! My son is taking me to the Cambridge Botanical gardens soon. Must be 15 years since I was last there! After the visits there I made up a series of blogs on te gardens - does anyone remember still?

18 May, 2025

Shirley_tulip

David, I had only just joined GoY back in 2010 and was struggling to get to grips with a computer, hence I missed your blogs.

19 May, 2025

Feverfew

Fantastic tour, Ty, Shirley. The gardens must be enormous, no wonder you needed a sit down. I was taken to the chilli festival once( I would rather it had been the tomato one), anyway I went but didn’t see any of the lovely gardens, what a pity. Maybe one day I will. Thanks again for your blog.

21 May, 2025

Shirley_tulip

Josie, was it just entry to the Chilli Festival then?

22 May, 2025

Balcony

Shirley, here are some of the blogs I wrote on Cambridge Botanical gardens:

https://growsonyou.com/balcony/blog/12632-cambridge-botanical-gardens-compost-corner-1

https://growsonyou.com/balcony/blog/12652-cambridge-botanical-gardens-compost-corner-2

https://www.growsonyou.com/balcony/blog/12673-cambridge-botanical-gardens-compost-corner-3

https://growsonyou.com/balcony/blog/12688-cambridge-botanical-gardens-compost-corner-4

https://growsonyou.com/balcony/blog/11999-cambridge-botanical-gardens-1

https://growsonyou.com/balcony/blog/12290-cambridge-botanical-gardens-2

22 May, 2025

Shirley_tulip

Thanks David, I shall view them when I have some free time!

23 May, 2025

Balcony

Hope you enjoy them! :)

I've told my son that I would like to go there again but it will have to wait until the August Bank Holiday. We expect to move house this year sometime & we'll be very busy with setting up the new place.

25 May, 2025