Water is the life blood that supports all life on earth and is vital to any garden. The National Garden Scheme is partnered with WWT to promote a wider understanding of the importance of wetlands and water in nature and in our gardens – we share information on how to create mini-wetlands in our gardens and how to conserve water in the increasingly hot summers. With over 1,700 National Garden Scheme gardens mentioning water in their descriptions the importance of this life-giving element is clear.
From natural swimming ponds and stately rills to barrel ponds and water gardens in Belfast sinks, the variety of water in our gardens is inspiring. While water features provide fabulous depths to garden design, it also supports a wide variety of water loving plants and attracts wildlife too.
• According to research there’s a greater acreage of gardens than nature reserves in England, that’s why in a changing climate our gardens are SO important.
• There are 23 million gardens in the UK, and each one, whatever their size, can play a part in reversing biodiversity loss.
• The parts of your garden which feature water support more life per area than any other habitat.
• Whether you have a balcony, a window box, an urban patch or an acre or more, start thinking of it as an eco-system in its own right and a steppingstone in connecting habitats to create wildlife corridors.
Be inspired!
Many National Garden Scheme gardens showcase water in its myriad forms. Featured below are some of our most spectacular gardens but there are many more featuring smaller water features and ponds which would be at home in even the tiniest garden.
Please always check current opening information on the NGS website before visiting any of the gardens
The Old Vicarage
The Street, Washington, RH20 4AS.
Every Thurs to 1 Oct (10-4). Adm £10, chd free. Pre-booking essential, please visit www.ngs. org.uk for information & booking. Self service light refreshments on Thurs (cash only) & picnics welcome. Mon 31 Aug (10-5). Adm £10, chd free. Home-made teas. Purchase ticket in advance or at the gate on the day. Visits also by arrangement to 1 Oct for groups of 10 to 30. No private group visits on Thursdays.
A truly creative garden, nurtured over 35 years to become
a visitor favourite. Spanning 31⁄2 acres, it features formal topiary, seasonal borders, a contemporary water sculpture, an Italianate gazebo, specimen and mature trees, a Japanese garden with waterfall and tea house, a large copse with a stream, a stumpery and treehouse, and a kitchen garden with fruit trees. With 4000 tulips and bulbs planted annually, the garden also opens in Feb for snowdrops. WC available. Featured in RHS The Garden magazine, March 2025. Regional Finalist, The English Garden’s The Nation’s Favourite Gardens 2021. Wheelchair access to front garden; rear garden is on a slope.
Judy’s Cottage Garden
33 The Plantation, Worthing, BN13 2AE.
Sat 5 Sept (10.30-3). Adm £5, chd free. Home-made teas.
A beautiful medium sized cottage garden with something of interest all year-round. The garden has several mature trees creating a feeling of seclusion. The informal beds contain a mixture of shrubs, perennials, cottage garden plants and spring bulbs. There are little hidden areas to enjoy, a small fish pond and other water features. There is also a raised, pretty log cabin overlooking the garden.
Parsonage Farm
Kirdford, nr Billingshurst, RH14 0NH.
Sun 6 Sept (2-6). Adm £10, chd free. Home-made teas. Refreshments in aid of The Jane Lemon Foundation.
Major garden in beautiful setting developed over 30 years with fruit theme and many unusual plants. Formally laid out on grand scale with long vistas. C18 walled garden with borders in apricot, orange, scarlet and crimson. Topiary walk, pleached lime allée, tulip tree avenue, rose borders and vegetable garden with trained fruit. Turf amphitheatre, autumn shrubbery, yew cloisters and jungle walk. Featured in Gardens Illustrated (Dec 2024) and previously in Country Life. Wheelchair access to the whole garden with one step that can be avoided. Accessible WC.
Rymans
Appledram Lane South, Apuldram, Chichester, PO20 7EG.
Sun 13 Sept (2-5). Adm £8, chd free. Refreshments in aid of St Mary’s Church, Apuldram.
Walled and other gardens surround a C15 stone house (not open). Featuring bulbs, flowering shrubs, roses, ponds, a potager, and many unusual and rare trees and shrubs. In late spring, the wisterias are spectacular. Hybrid musk roses fill the walled garden in June, and in late summer, the garden is filled with dahlias, sedums, late roses, sages, and Japanese anemones.
Bignor Park
Pulborough, RH20 1HG.
Opens Tue 22 Sept (2-5). Adm £7, chd free. Home-made teas.
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. Former home of romantic poet Charlotte Smith, whose sonnets were inspired by Bignor Park. Spectacular cedar of Lebanon and rare Lucombe oak. Wheelchair access to shrubbery and croquet lawn. Gravel paths in rest of garden and steps in stables quadrangle.
Denmans Garden Denmans Lane, Fontwell, BN18 0SU
Opens for NGS: Mon 26 Oct (9.30-4). Adm £10, chd £8. Pre-booking essential, please phone 01243 278950, email [email protected] or visit www.denmans. org for information & booking. Light refreshments. For other opening times and information, please phone, email or visit garden website. Award-winning Grade II registered tranquil contemporary garden, created by gravel gardening pioneer Joyce Robinson and developed by renowned landscape designer John Brookes MBE. Known for its curvilinear layout and complex planting, features including year-round colour, unusual plants, structure and fragrance in the gravel gardens, dry riverbeds, ponds, walled garden, and conservatory. Plant Nursery with specially selected and unusual shrubs, grasses, ferns, and herbaceous perennials. The Gift Shop has beautifully curated gifts and locally made products. Midpines Café serves breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea.
The National Garden Scheme doesn’t just open beautiful gardens for charity – they are passionate about the physical and mental health benefits of gardens too. They also support charities doing amazing work in gardens and health and grant bursaries to help community gardening projects.
To learn more about the National Garden Scheme, discover your perfect garden or find out how to open your own garden visit the website. For gardens opening in Sussex, pick up a copy of The National Garden Scheme Sussex Booklet, available free from many local stores, garden centres and libraries and as an online Flip Book.
Image: The Old Vicarage
