New developments in the gardens as well as a range of fascinating garden workshops and talks.
As the sun is starting to shine and the days are warming up, the gardeners at award-winning West Dean Gardens near Chichester are putting plans into place for the Spring and Summer. The gardens are bursting into life and during Spring there will be a vibrant display of over 500,000 spring bulbs, and for the first time there is a glorious display of hyacinths!
The restoration of the Glasshouses is coming to an end, and Glasshouse 4 is going to be filled with an array of Hyacinths, which are currently in bloom and smell amazing! Later in the year the Glasshouses will be used to grow ten different types of sweet potatoes that are suitable for the British climate as well a being used as Apricot, Peach and Nectarine Houses. There will also be an opulent display incorporating groups of chillies, geraniums and calibrachoa, otherwise known as million bells.
Step inside the Fern House (Glasshouse 15), which is north-facing and has a constant temperature between 16-18 degrees, perfect for a fern display showcasing non-hardy ferns and tree ferns, which adds some height. In Glasshouse 16 visitors will find spring and summer displays comprising standard fuchsias, pelargoniums and heliotropes.
Also within the Walled Garden, the Cut Flower Garden will be developed so that visitors can buy bunches of flowers, along with other garden produce from the distinctive circular Apple Store – flowers already planted include sunflowers, delphiniums and dahlias. At the moment, the gardeners are building a frame from old hazel poles which will allow a mass of eye-catching sweet peas to grow, and in the Kitchen Garden, other fruit and vegetables that will be grown include peppers, hanging tomatoes, rhubarb as well as black, red and white currants.
As Head Gardener, Tom Brown comments: “2020 is looking an exciting year at West Dean, this is my first full year here, so we are looking at all the different aspects of the gardens and seeing how we can develop them, but also incorporate them into the various garden-related talks and workshops that are held at West Dean, all year round.”
He continues: “The team behind the garden is phenomenal and includes 45 volunteers who each bring a passion for gardening with them ranging from a plant pathologist to teachers, nurses and librarians.”
What can you see in the Gardens at West Dean each Month?
March - Hyacinths
April - Tulips
May – Foxgloves, Wallflowers
June - Roses
July – Cut flowers and vegetables galore
August - Dahlias
September – Apples and pears
The Gardens Restaurant will be open to enjoy lunch or afternoon tea (breakfasts available from 9am at weekends and Bank Holidays) and browse the shop for seasonal gifts and plants. West Dean’s newly opened tea room in Gardeners Cottage, formerly the residence of West Dean Gardens' head gardeners, is somewhere to enjoy a pit-stop and refreshments and will be open Fridays to Sundays from March 20, 2020.
Gardens entry:
Adult tickets £10 (normal gardens entry) and Children under 16 enjoy FREE Gardens entry.
The West Dean Gardens Spring Pass is now on sale - both online and in the Gardens Shop - for £20. The Spring Pass entitles visitors to unlimited Gardens entry between March 1 - May 31, 2020.
2020 Garden Events & Courses up to September
West Dean Gardens is part of the Edward James Foundation, a charitable trust, also comprising West Dean College of Arts and Conservation, West Dean Estate and the West Dean Tapestry Studio.
Charity No. 1126084.
More information is available on www.westdean.org.uk or through social media:
https://www.facebook.com/westdeangardens
https://www.instagram.com/westdeangardens/
https://twitter.com/westdeangardens
For further information or high-resolution digital images, please contact Rachel Aked:
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07790 732448