by Ruth Lawrence
Gardening
Spring Open Gardens We’ve handpicked three highly individual gardens that will be opening their gates to the public in aid of the National Gardens Scheme.
Stonehealed Farm Streat Lane, Streat, East Sussex BN6 8SA Open Days: Sunday 26 May and Sunday 16 June, 2-5pm Fiona and Lance Smith’s 17th-century house overlooks a garden that encompasses exceptional diversity of form and function while enjoying superb downland views. Areas nearest the house have a formal layout with relaxed unrestrained planting. Fiona readily admits that “I don’t like to look out on bare soil” and the brightest colours are to be found closest to the house. A ‘hot’ corner comprises reds, yellows and oranges contrasting with dark foliage while a series of ‘rooms’ lead the visitor across a curving natural pond into a lime walk and walnut grove, before resting under a hornbeam arbour. A winding staircase wrapped around an ancient oak leads to a high platform offering an owl’s eye view of the garden as it melts into the landscape beyond.
Legsheath Farm
Sparrow Hatch
nr Forest Row, East Sussex RH19 4JN Open Days: Sunday 19 May, 2-5.30pm Legsheath Farm has been in Michael Neal’s family for four generations. The 10-acre garden, with its sweeping views of Weirwood Reservoir, is home to some spectacular specimens. One of the first Davidia planted in this country towers over azure Himalayan poppies with their handsized flowers, while wild orchids wrestle for attention with the numerous species of meconopsis, helibores and cyclamen. A series of ponds and a stream-corralled island lead past a round folly before heading back past trees selected to reflect the diversity of the planet. Visitors inspired by the scale and variety of unusual specimens can purchase reasonably priced home-grown examples from a vast selection available on the day.
Cornwell’s Bank, nr Newick, East Sussex BN8 4RD Open Days: Wednesday 22 – Thursday 23 May, Wednesday 26 – Thursday 27 June, 2-5pm The garden at Tony and Jane Welfare’s brush tree with tiny, round deep-purple home is a plantswoman’s labour of leaves, and a Poncirus with huge spikes love – a third of an acre teeming with which are modified leaves. life that everyone can relate to and find Two ponds, a woodland walk, inspiration from. Most of the thousands vegetable and cottage gardens along of plants are carefully labelled, and with bursting herbaceous borders give many are for sale, propagated by Jane. some idea of the variety on offer here. Created entirely from scratch since Jane and Tony love to give advice and 1997, the garden now contains some they find that visitors always leave unusual specimens: a seed-grown “with plenty of ideas after they’ve honeysuckle tree, an Australian bottle enjoyed browsing.”
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S u ss e x L i v i n g May 2013
Wildlife gardeners will find much to learn here: hedgehogs, toads, newts and frogs live alongside birds attracted by native hedging and plentiful berries, while plant lovers can revel in the home-grown varieties for sale.
www.ngs.org.uk
www.sussexliving.com