Oasis in the Wealden Plains
Sussex Prairie Garden, West Sussex The graceful perennials of Britain’s largest prairie garden come into their own in September, when golden grasses mingle with glorious bold blooms
Sussex Prairie Garden, Sussex
Over the past 13 years, Paul and Pauline McBride have transformed 33.2 hectares of paddock in the fertile Wealden plains of West Sussex into an abundant prairie garden. The McBrides started by planting a series of interlocking borders in the shape of a spiralling nautilus shell in May 2008.
Inspired by their time working in Luxembourg with world-renowned Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf, Paul and Pauline have put their own unique twist on perennial planting. Enclosed by a ring of mature oak trees, generous drifts of perennials – chosen for their form, texture or leaf shape – are interwoven with stunning ornamental grasses. It’s a garden where visitors don’t just look at the plants, they experience them; narrow paths through the borders allow close encounters with towering foliage and flowers. Explore the deep borders before emerging from their intimacy to marvel at bold and beautiful vistas.
GRASSLAND GRACE
By late summer, the garden is a feast of colour, texture and height, where every aspect offers a new picture, with layer upon layer of flowers, foliage, seedheads and stems creating a truly immersive experience. Big grasses dominate the prairie, their bold flowerheads moving in the breeze like a turbulent seascape. In a garden of this scale, bold blocks of colour – created by huge drifts of Echinacea purpurea, Phlox paniculata, Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’, Persicaria amplexicaulis and Eupatorium maculatum – appear like brushstrokes on the landscape.
THOUGHTFUL PLANTING
The incredible variety of plant species on offer attracts a huge array of insects and birds, their sounds and movements as hypnotic as the garden itself. Careful consideration is also given to how seedheads and stems will become structurally and architecturally dramatic when flowering has finished; on frosty or misty mornings in the heart of winter, the garden is a dazzling sight.
The onsite nursery sells an excellent selection of unusual prairie plants to set anyone off on a successful path to making their own home-grown prairie. The garden also hosts art and craft workshops as well as events, including the Beautiful and Useful Fair, 18 September.
Visitor info: There is step-free access to all public areas, tea shop, nursery and toilets. Open Wed–Sun, 1pm–5pm until 10 October; £10 per adult.
“EXPLORE THE DEEP BORDERS BEFORE EMERGING FROM THEIR INTIMACY TO MARVEL AT THE BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL VISTAS”