I am fortunate that I have many National Trust gardens to visit that are close to me, one of which I visited recently was Wakehurst Place.

There are some big changes happening beyond the Mansion Lawn!

North American Prairie landscape Mood board

Inspired by the sweeping prairies of the North American landscapes, the horticulturists and volunteers are in the process of creating a six acre prairie landscape. In order to achieve this, trees, shrubs and the specimen borders have been cleared.

An idea of how the pathways may look

Currently, the design is beginning to take shape – hard landscaping has started, with pathways being created in the area.

Elsewhere, closer to the Mansion, the borders are a riot of colour in the summer months!

West Mansion Border, Wakehurst Place

The West Mansion border, as its name suggests, is the border that runs against the wall of the Mansion on its west side. In the summer months it is a riot of rainbow colour in true Gertrude Jekyll style. It makes use of a mix of herbaceous perennials such as Penstemon, Lobelia and Crocosmia with tender plants complementing the display. The border runs from oranges through reds, pinks, mauves and blues to white at the Walled Gardens gate.

Winter Garden, Wakehurst Place – photo taken shortly after initial planting

The Winter Garden has been revamped and is really starting to look impressive. The planting includes:

• 16,000 snowdrops (Galanthus)
• 6,000 sedges (Carex)
• 5,000 crocuses (Crocus)
• 2,000 cyclamen (Cyclamen)
• 600 fountain grasses (Pennisetum)
• 500 dogwoods (Cornus)

Winter Garden, Wakehurst Place – photo taken in first year of planting

Winter Garden, Wakehurst Place – photo taken in December 2019

Wakehurst Place is well worth a visit and I suggest that, if you are close by, to pop in – it won’t be a disappointment.