Highdown Gardens, Goring-by-Sea
Thursday 1st May 10am-8pm admission by donation.
Highdown Gardens were created by Sir Frederick Stern. They are home to rare plants and trees, many grown from seed collected by Wilson, Farrer and Kingdon-Ward. A fully equipped glasshouse enables the propagation of this National Plant Collection. A visitor centre shares stories of the plants and people behind the gardens. An accessible path leads to a sensory garden with a secret sea view.
Every Thursday, 10am-4pm admission £8 pre-booking essential. Monday 26th May 10am-5pm admission £8
Gardens of 3½ acres set around 1832 Regency house (not open). The front is formally laid out with topiary, wide lawn, mixed border and contemporary water sculpture. The rear features new and mature trees from C19, herbaceous borders, water garden and stunning uninterrupted views of the North Downs. The Japanese garden with waterfall and pond leads to a large copse, stream, treehouse and stumpery.
Saturday 3rd, Tuesday 13th, Saturday 17th, Tuesday 27th and Saturday 31st May 2pm-5pm admission £5
This inspirational space is a delight with permanent gazebos and comfortable seating to sit and relax, enjoying delicious teas. When cold we light the fire for our guests. Interlocking beds packed with year-round colour and scent, shaded by specimen trees, inventive water features and a range of quirky woodland sculptures.
Sunday 4th May 12pm-5pm admission £5
1 acre garden created over the last 15 yrs around an old West Sussex farmhouse (not open), sitting in the midst of its own fields and woods. The formal garden inc a kitchen garden with heated glasshouse, orchard, espaliered wall trained fruit, lawn with ha-ha and cutting garden. A motley assortment of animals inc sheep, donkeys, chickens, ducks and geese.
Sunday 4th and Monday 5th May 2pm-5pm admission £6
Wild woodland garden planted for spring interest some 40 yrs ago by plant collectors of rhododendron, azalea, camellia and acer, along winding steep paths to the south of the house. Notable garden for the extensive range of rhododendron cultivars, rare and unusual trees and shrubs. There is a collection of Rhododendron yakushimanum among many others; small pinetum and many specialist trees.
Fittleworth House, Fittleworth
Wednesday 7th and 14th May 2pm-5pm admission £5
3 acre tranquil, romantic, country garden with walled kitchen garden growing a wide range of fruit, vegetables and flowers inc a large collection of dahlias. Large glasshouse and old potting shed, mixed flower borders, roses, rhododendrons and lawns. Magnificent 115ft tall cedar overlooks wisteria covered Grade II listed Georgian house (not open). Wild garden, long grass areas and stream.
Saturday 10th May 11am-4pm admission £5
A garden for all seasons which delights the visitor. Started in 1988, it features cottage, woodland and Japanese style gardens, water features and borders of perennials with a particular emphasis on southern hemisphere plants. Unusual plants for the plantsman to enjoy, many grown from seed.
Sunday 11th May 1pm-5pm admission £6
Large south facing garden with lots of mature shrubs inc camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas. An arboretum with a variety of flowering and fruit trees. The old yew and beech hedges give a certain amount of formality to this traditional English garden. Tea on the terrace is a must with the most beautiful view of the South Downs. For the more energetic there is a woodland walk.
Sunday 11th May 11am-5pm admission £5
A natural landscape, the garden has been developed around three disused sand quarries with far-reaching views across the Amberley Wildbrooks to the South Downs. A woodland walk in spring leads you past beautiful sculptures, against a backdrop of colourful rhododendrons and azaleas. In summer the garden is a colourful tapestry of heathers, well-known for their abundance and variety.
Tuesday 13th May 2pm-5pm admission £5
11 acres of peaceful garden to explore with magnificent views of the South Downs. Interesting trees, shrubs and wildflower areas. The walled garden has been replanted with herbaceous borders and the Dutch garden has a new central obelisk and planting inc climbing roses, salvias and echinaceas. Temple, Greek loggia, Zen pond and unusual sculptures.
Thursday 15th May 11pm-5pm admission £6
The garden is situated in the middle of a 200 acre Deer Park, which has a very special herd of Red Deer husbanded by the Lucas Family for over 150 yrs. Borders with traditional planting and a kitchen garden that is prolific most of the yr. The rest of the garden comprises different spaces inc a small white garden, a Moroccan courtyard and a walled garden. There is also a woodland walk.
Friday 16th 6pm-8pm and Saturday 17th May 11am-5pm admission £6 pre-booking essential – 2hr timed slots
A quintessential English cottage garden, packed with a mix of perennials and bulbs on a potentially challenging multi layered site. Comprising four distinct rooms inc a small roof terrace, top terrace sitting above the house garden and a vegetable garden built in what was a small swimming pool. Every square inch has been used.
Pigeon Mead House, Earnley (Opening for the first time)
Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th May 11am-4pm admission £6 pre-booking essential.
A ⅓ acre plot about ¾ mile from the coast. South facing rear garden with a formal structure and informal mixed planting. Features inc a greenhouse, a formal lawn surrounded by beds and espaliered crab apples, a small labyrinth, and a shaded area. Family friendly space with places to sit and enjoy the garden. Front garden inc wildlife pond, a small meadow area, and a lovely, established magnolia tree.
Saturday 24th, Sunday 25th and Monday 26th May 11am-5pm admission £5
⅕ acre property with terraced front garden, leading to a heavily planted rear garden which has plenty of seating and shaded areas, with majestic 130 yr old black pines. Shrubs, perennials, and packed with interest around every corner providing all season colours. Many raised beds, numerous sculptures, vegetables in boxes, a greenhouse, pond and a large collection of tree lilies.
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th May 10am-4.30pm admission £7
A South Downs view welcomes you to this rural garden set in over an acre in the hamlet of Wineham. Created and developed by local landscape designer Sue McLaughlin and the owners, it is designed to delight throughout the seasons. Features inc mixed borders, mature shrubs and orchard. A vegetable garden with greenhouse and pond hide behind a tall clipped hornbeam hedge.
Sunday 25th and Monday 26th May 2pm-5pm admission £6
Delightful large country garden. Passionately and imaginatively created by enthusiastic owner over the past 20 yrs. An interesting garden with a series of circular lawns surrounded by borders, full of mass drift, repeat planting of harmonious perennials, roses, shrubs, and more. A newly developed white garden, wisteria pergola, kitchen and cutting garden, fountains and various seating areas.
Sunday 25th and Monday 26th May 11am-4pm admission £5
A very small, sloping, new build garden which has been transformed from bare heavy clay into a series of spaces with interesting hard landscaping features. An unexpected cacophony of architectural shapes and textures greets you as you walk through the gate, a true plant lover’s paradise. This space shows what can be achieved in a short space of time through hard work and passion.
Swallow Lodge, St Leonard's Park (Opening for the first time)
Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th May 11am-4pm admission £6 pre-booking essential.
Small rural and charming garden surrounded by fields, focusing on roses and delphiniums with a large cottage border and vegetable garden.
Saturday 31st May 10am-4pm £6 combined admission with The Shrubbery
Scratch built in June 2019 after the 300m² garden was removed down to 40cm, we then added fresh topsoil and re-turfed. By summer 2021 the garden was well established. Now, we have reached the final planning and planting of the beds ‘we think’! Apart from replacing the odd failing plant (we all have them) we just keep things ship-shape as best we can.
Saturday 31st May 10am-4pm £6 combined admission with The Old Rectory
A garden of ideas in a ¼ acre plot of mature trees, shrubs, wild flower lawn, roses, agapanthus, and dahlias leading to a walled back garden of mixed colourful borders, soft fruit, sculptures and a large collection of hostas.
NGS garden visits make a difference to the lives of thousands of people across the UK
With record donations in 2024 the power of gardens and garden visits for good causes is evident. 2024 was another landmark year for the National Garden Scheme with the charity donating a record £3,501,227 from the 2024 garden opening season. The impact of these donations to our major nursing and health beneficiaries means that thousands of people who live with health conditions such as cancer or Parkinson’s, who have poor mental health, or who struggle financially as unpaid carers, have been supported by our funding of the nurses, health professionals and case workers who support them. Our funding has also provided support to those in the Gardens and Health sector along with Community Gardens and supported gardeners through traineeships.
May is the month when The National Garden Scheme raises awareness of the physical and mental health benefits of gardens and gardening for everyone and of the importance of healthy gardens to wider biodiversity, through its dedicated Gardens and Heath Week, 3rd to 11th May.
For more information on the National Garden Scheme and information on the benefits of gardening for health and wellbeing visit the National Garden Scheme website https://ngs.org.uk. and download a free copy of the The Little Yellow Book of Gardens and Health 2025.
Online readers can click on this link to look at the interactive
National Garden Scheme 2025 Sussex Booklet
And we have every more beautiful gardens opening in June, July and August including more that are opening for the first time. https://ngs.org.uk/west-sussex-june-gardens/
https://ngs.org.uk/west-sussex-july-gardens/
https://ngs.org.uk/west-sussex-august-gardens/
https://ngs.org.uk/west-sussex-gardens-late-openers/