The National Garden Scheme: The Old Vicarage Washington: Garden open every Thursday to 10th October, Mon 27th May, Sun 30th June and Mon 26th August

The 3½ acre garden at The Old Vicarage is set around an 1832 Regency house (not open) in the pretty village of Washington, West Sussex. As well as the stunning views looking towards the North Downs, enhanced by mature and various specimen trees, the garden has many pockets of interest. There is a Japanese garden with its waterfall, pond, bamboo and grasses, a further large water garden and numerous creatively planted herbaceous borders. A working kitchen garden has glasshouses, fruit cages, orchard and vegetables. The Italianate gazebo with green oak columns and lead roof offers a wonderfully comfortable place to sit and contemplate the beauty of this garden. Throughout, there are well placed seating areas to take in the stunning scenery. The treehouse is much loved by young and old alike, from here the nature viewing platform opens on to the woodland copse area which incorporates a stream and architectural stumpery. Everyone loves the topiary of characters who watch over the tennis court. In the spring there is an abundance of bulbs throughout: snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, fritillaria, camassia and bluebells. Whatever the weather, there is a haven in the conservatory where refreshments are available.

The Old Vicarage The Street Washington, West Sussex RH20 4AS is open for the National Garden Scheme every Thursday to 10th October 2024 (10am-5pm) Admission £7, children free. Pre-book on the National Garden Scheme. It will also be open on Mon 27th May, Sun 30th June and Mon 26th August (10am – 5pm) and on these days you can pay on the day, or book online, and enjoy home-made teas. Please visit the NGS website for more details. Please visit the NGS website for more details.

Photo James Walters

The National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, and raises impressive amounts of money for some of the UK's best-loved nursing and health charities through admissions, teas and cake.

Thanks to the generosity of garden owners, volunteers and visitors we have donated more than £70 million to our beneficiary charities, and in 2023 made donations of over £3.4 million. Founded in 1927 to support district nurses, we are now the most significant charitable funder of nursing in the UK and our beneficiaries include Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK and The Queen’s Nursing Institute.
The National Garden Scheme doesn’t just open beautiful gardens for charity – we are passionate about the physical and mental health benefits of gardens too. We fund projects which promote gardens and gardening as therapy, and in 2017, we launched our annual Gardens and Health Week to raise awareness of the topic. Our funding also supports the training of gardeners and offers respite to horticultural workers who have fallen on difficult times.

To learn more about the National Garden Scheme, discover your perfect garden or find out how to open your own garden, visit the website.

Direct links to West Sussex NGS gardens
https://ngs.org.uk/west-sussex-by-arrangement-gardens/
https://ngs.org.uk/west-sussex-may-gardens/
https://ngs.org.uk/west-sussex-june-gardens/
https://ngs.org.uk/west-sussex-july-gardens/
https://ngs.org.uk/west-sussex-august-gardens/