Garden with a sense of theatre
Within ancient walls, a small garden shaded with foliage is divided into scenes as in a dramatic performance
leaving behind the misty meadows and leafy spinneys of the Lavant Valley in West Sussex, a single lane arrives abruptly at an old wooden door set into a high brick-and-flint wall. Hidden behind the door, a flagstone path leads into a serene and secluded garden, alive with the colours and scents of late spring. Overlooked by an 18th century cottage, this garden is especially sheltered; enclosed within ancient walls, clematis or ivy-clad fences, mature trees and topiary giants which part to allow glimpses of the South Downs. Small but with great presence, this fifth-of-an-acre garden has a sense of theatre about it, and no more so than at dawn. Then, shafts of sunlight illuminate a stone column rising from a tangle of wildflowers, the rays breaking through a leafy canopy to light the labyrinthine paths that converge on this central point. “I see the garden as a series of scenes, and it feels rather like walking on and off a stage as you pass through the different spaces,” explains Jim Buckland. This ever-changing vista is home to Jim and his wife Sarah Wain, the head gardener duo at West Dean Gardens, a beautifully restored, Grade II listed garden, arboretum and landscaped park, originally laid out in the 18th century. Jim and Sarah arrived in 1991, shortly after the Great Storm wreaked havoc on the historic gardens, and oversaw its restoration. Over the years, Jim has gradually created a personal, private