West Dean Gardens

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) brightening walks around the Garden.

Keep the colour in your gardens coming throughout September and October with plants such as Stonecrop, Helenium and Ceanothus ‘Autumnal Blue'. Read more in this article from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Another beautiful day! Perfect for a #WestDeanGardens Friends walk!
https://buff.ly/2J3v6Gv

Looking to try something new this Autumn/Winter? There are plenty of garden related courses included in the West Dean College of Arts and Conservation short course line-up inc. growing your own fruit, table arrangements, decorations and designing your own garden! Take a look at them all here: https://buff.ly/2G8TeFY

Thinking of creating a woodland border? Plants including Fern and Hosta Great Expectations are perfect. #garden

The squash are coming along nicely in the Garden! Here's our Turks Turban https://buff.ly/1W346pr

Lettuce and Beetroot harvest. Being prepared to be taken over to the Gardens restaurant!

Glorious day! Amazing to have the sun back with us ☀️

We think #WestDeanGardens is just the place! Open this weekend from 9am-5pm
https://buff.ly/2q3BPEP

Bright and colourful Swiss Chard in the Kitchen Garden. Delicious and ornamental, seeds can be sown from Spring to late Summer. #WestDeanGardens

Apples picked from the Gardens are on sale at the Garden shop! Including Red Devil, Keswick Codlin and Maltster🍎 🍏
https://buff.ly/2q3BPEP

Vibrant Purple Loosestrife in the Spring Garden. https://buff.ly/1W346pr

Proud to announce #WestDeanGardens have been named one of Garden News #Best100Gardens in the UK! Thank you to all that voted for us 🎉 See the full list here: https://buff.ly/2wjsjQ0

Jim Buckland & Sarah Wain have been working hard on 'At West Dean' the first book to comprehensively document #WestDeanGardens in celebration of the excellence Jim and Sarah have established over the last 25 Years. Book launch: 2 October
Book preorder: https://buff.ly/2PMsGMf

Some photos from another fantastic #ChilliFiesta!
This is your last chance to get your super early bird tickets for 2019- ends TODAY 4PM: https://www.westdean.org.uk/gardens/event s/chilli-fiesta

We have a whole variety of tomatoes growing around the Gardens and in the Glasshouses. All shapes and sizes! Have you seen them all? #growyourown

Sunflower Vanilla Ice- a beautiful compact sunflower variety sending sunshine to all! #WestDeanGardens

It's Bank Holiday Weekend! Who will be with us? Today, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday We're open 9am-5pm! Come and enjoy a walk around the Spring Garden, Walled Gardens and see all of the Glasshouses thriving. https://buff.ly/2q3BPEP

Grapes are ripening on the vines in the Gardens! Interested in growing your own? See these tips from RHS - Royal Horticultural Society https://buff.ly/2vFkwfQ

a relaxed but splendid stately home in amongst the most glorious rolling countryside and beautifully flower and tree filled grounds... I did a glass making one day course here... lunch included... and deliciously homemade... tuition excellent...relaxed... and I came away duly instructed and keen for more... can't recommend it enough

Well worth the trip a little confusing as to what gardens you are in as there are no corresponding numbers to match up with the map yr given but otherwise worth the money you pay to get in

Well done West Dean Gardens! You put on a spectacular Halloween event for youngsters. Great value for money - Craft workshop, Face painting, Walking trail map with answers to collect. Gourds galore! The cafe was extremely busy but the staff were super organised & the food was good. Oh & still plenty of colour in the garden. Thank you!

We went to see the open air theatre at west dean this week. Was a fantastic setting and play. Your missing out not going ..The restaurant at west dean is in such a lovely setting and the food is top notch.. The staff are so friendly and its a great place to eat... Len

Visited for the first time this week and found the most stunningly beautiful gardens nestled in the beautiful countryside of West Sussex. I was stunned at the size of the gardens and also the huge trees and found every corner I turned took my breath away. I can't wait to visit again !!! Being disabled in a wheelchair I find not all places are wheelchair friendly but West Dean is and has plenty of parking .

Our first visit to West Dean Gardens has been really pleasant. The gardens are a tranquil haven where you could easily spend a few hours, including peeking into the many greenhouses to admire the many unusual plants/flowers. We went on the Pheasantry Track walk through fields of ewes with their lambs - again an enjoyable experience. Our reward was in the restaurant, drinking tea and eating shortbread! We will definitely be going back for another visit in a few weeks time when there will be more flowers to see.

Managed to see a bit of the gardens this time, went for the chilli fiesta. Had the best time, gets bigger and bolder ever time I come. Definately going next year...hopefully with a more funky minded person than my teenage son...who loved the chilli challenges and test your strength, but didn't approve of me enjoying the AMAZINGLY musical treats xx �����������

Love this place - cycled past it a million times but never been in. We instantly became friends - £60 for one person and a guest which is great as you can then take whoever you like with you. Food and service is very good. A little slice of heaven.

It's beautiful place! We will back there soon!

I usually visit West Dean every year when it hosts the annual chilli fiesta. The grounds are huge so the fiesta is well spread out. I always go to the greenhouses to see the amazing range of plants they have: flowers, fruits, vegetables, trees and bushes. I particularly like the dahlia garden and the orchards. I thoroughly recommend West Dean as a place to visit.

I am absolutely in love with this place. I come with the intention of "just an hour or so" but leave after spending the entire day. The gardens changing through the year are stunning. The kitchen garden a great source of envy for me! Even the gift shop is full of interesting and beautifully made things (not the tat that can sometimes be seen in other venue's adjoining shops). Do visit, you won't be disappointed.

Had a really good walk around the gardens and parkland today. The beds around the glint bridges are beautiful and unique. Loved the begonias in the greenhouses and the variety of other plants too. They are doing a fantastic job restoring these Victorian pieces of architecture. Enjoyed our walk around the parkland, weaving through the arboretum. Didn't want to leave at the end be of the day, it was soooo lovely.

Fabulous walking. Views magnificent. Made beautiful by sunshine.

Amazing place to visit, especially as spring flowers are in bloom, and lucky enough to have been there on a sunny Bank Holiday Monday. Easter Egg hunt was very well planned out, with puzzles for the kids to do on the way round, however, the end result for the kids was a bit disappointing, a small bag of about 5 chocolates where even a small egg might have been better and make the kids feel a sense of being rewarded for completing the "course".

A great place to take all of the family, and the dog, so no one left out. Somewhere you can spend all day, there's a pathway that takes you up onto the south downs, the walled garden is brilliant, how they manage to get the vegetables so large, I don't know. The stroll round the rest of the garden's is breath taking, the hours the staff put in must be enormous. The restaurant food is brilliant, all home made, and they use a lot of the produce they grow in the gardens.

A great day out we have been going for about 20 years and love it.

Unfortunately some of the best stalls have gone over the years but there have been some new ones to replace them you don't have to be mad on chillis to enjoy it (but it helps) there is lots to see and do and good music to enjoy

We will be back next year

Very good on the Friday many chilli afficionados and many tongue destroyingly hot experiences to be had. A plethora of different types of street food and offerings, including Thai, Vietnamese, Peruvian, Greek, Italian and my favourite Paella, the meat one great the veggie one with artichokes looked good. Champagne and Oysters on offer too. Great Dorset Oysters ! Loved it - with lemon and of course.... tabasco. Main gig venue didn't really get going till after lunch, but satellite little groups and events, the Mariachi and Line Dancing ... a lot of fun !! Bring the Fire !!

Lovely flower gardens, including a sunken garden, one of the longest pergolas in the country, wild and spring gardens, and walled fruit garden with Victorian glasshouses. There is aso a small arboretum and plenty of ancient trees. The hose is now a conservation and creative arts college and rarely open to the public, but the facades are agttractive. There are several attractive lawns and lots of benches to sit on. The River Lavant runs through the grounds (usually dried up in the summer). There is also a shop with plant sales and a lovely cafe and terrace. Admission is a bit pricey (no concessions), but on a sunny day is well worth it. There are also longer circular walks over the adjacent South Downs through the Arboretum (2-3 miles). All in all, a fabulous place to visit for half a day - maybe longer if you stay for lunch and/or undertake the Parkland Walk.

I had a very enjoyable visit and the walled gardens and multiple greenhouses a particular highlight. The food was also good. I think a drinks facility beyond the water garden would be good as it is a long walk before getting back to the cafe for a drink, especially on a hot day. A small kiosk or even a water fountain would suffice.

a relaxed but splendid stately home in amongst the most glorious rolling countryside and beautifully flower and tree filled grounds... I did a glass making one day course here... lunch included... and deliciously homemade... tuition excellent...relaxed... and I came away duly instructed and keen for more... can't recommend it enough

Well worth the trip a little confusing as to what gardens you are in as there are no corresponding numbers to match up with the map yr given but otherwise worth the money you pay to get in

Well done West Dean Gardens! You put on a spectacular Halloween event for youngsters. Great value for money - Craft workshop, Face painting, Walking trail map with answers to collect. Gourds galore! The cafe was extremely busy but the staff were super organised & the food was good. Oh & still plenty of colour in the garden. Thank you!

We went to see the open air theatre at west dean this week. Was a fantastic setting and play. Your missing out not going ..The restaurant at west dean is in such a lovely setting and the food is top notch.. The staff are so friendly and its a great place to eat... Len

Visited for the first time this week and found the most stunningly beautiful gardens nestled in the beautiful countryside of West Sussex. I was stunned at the size of the gardens and also the huge trees and found every corner I turned took my breath away. I can't wait to visit again !!! Being disabled in a wheelchair I find not all places are wheelchair friendly but West Dean is and has plenty of parking .

Our first visit to West Dean Gardens has been really pleasant. The gardens are a tranquil haven where you could easily spend a few hours, including peeking into the many greenhouses to admire the many unusual plants/flowers. We went on the Pheasantry Track walk through fields of ewes with their lambs - again an enjoyable experience. Our reward was in the restaurant, drinking tea and eating shortbread! We will definitely be going back for another visit in a few weeks time when there will be more flowers to see.

Managed to see a bit of the gardens this time, went for the chilli fiesta. Had the best time, gets bigger and bolder ever time I come. Definately going next year...hopefully with a more funky minded person than my teenage son...who loved the chilli challenges and test your strength, but didn't approve of me enjoying the AMAZINGLY musical treats xx �����������

Love this place - cycled past it a million times but never been in. We instantly became friends - £60 for one person and a guest which is great as you can then take whoever you like with you. Food and service is very good. A little slice of heaven.

It's beautiful place! We will back there soon!

I usually visit West Dean every year when it hosts the annual chilli fiesta. The grounds are huge so the fiesta is well spread out. I always go to the greenhouses to see the amazing range of plants they have: flowers, fruits, vegetables, trees and bushes. I particularly like the dahlia garden and the orchards. I thoroughly recommend West Dean as a place to visit.

I am absolutely in love with this place. I come with the intention of "just an hour or so" but leave after spending the entire day. The gardens changing through the year are stunning. The kitchen garden a great source of envy for me! Even the gift shop is full of interesting and beautifully made things (not the tat that can sometimes be seen in other venue's adjoining shops). Do visit, you won't be disappointed.

Had a really good walk around the gardens and parkland today. The beds around the glint bridges are beautiful and unique. Loved the begonias in the greenhouses and the variety of other plants too. They are doing a fantastic job restoring these Victorian pieces of architecture. Enjoyed our walk around the parkland, weaving through the arboretum. Didn't want to leave at the end be of the day, it was soooo lovely.

Fabulous walking. Views magnificent. Made beautiful by sunshine.

Amazing place to visit, especially as spring flowers are in bloom, and lucky enough to have been there on a sunny Bank Holiday Monday. Easter Egg hunt was very well planned out, with puzzles for the kids to do on the way round, however, the end result for the kids was a bit disappointing, a small bag of about 5 chocolates where even a small egg might have been better and make the kids feel a sense of being rewarded for completing the "course".

A great place to take all of the family, and the dog, so no one left out. Somewhere you can spend all day, there's a pathway that takes you up onto the south downs, the walled garden is brilliant, how they manage to get the vegetables so large, I don't know. The stroll round the rest of the garden's is breath taking, the hours the staff put in must be enormous. The restaurant food is brilliant, all home made, and they use a lot of the produce they grow in the gardens.

A great day out we have been going for about 20 years and love it.

Unfortunately some of the best stalls have gone over the years but there have been some new ones to replace them you don't have to be mad on chillis to enjoy it (but it helps) there is lots to see and do and good music to enjoy

We will be back next year

Very good on the Friday many chilli afficionados and many tongue destroyingly hot experiences to be had. A plethora of different types of street food and offerings, including Thai, Vietnamese, Peruvian, Greek, Italian and my favourite Paella, the meat one great the veggie one with artichokes looked good. Champagne and Oysters on offer too. Great Dorset Oysters ! Loved it - with lemon and of course.... tabasco. Main gig venue didn't really get going till after lunch, but satellite little groups and events, the Mariachi and Line Dancing ... a lot of fun !! Bring the Fire !!

Lovely flower gardens, including a sunken garden, one of the longest pergolas in the country, wild and spring gardens, and walled fruit garden with Victorian glasshouses. There is aso a small arboretum and plenty of ancient trees. The hose is now a conservation and creative arts college and rarely open to the public, but the facades are agttractive. There are several attractive lawns and lots of benches to sit on. The River Lavant runs through the grounds (usually dried up in the summer). There is also a shop with plant sales and a lovely cafe and terrace. Admission is a bit pricey (no concessions), but on a sunny day is well worth it. There are also longer circular walks over the adjacent South Downs through the Arboretum (2-3 miles). All in all, a fabulous place to visit for half a day - maybe longer if you stay for lunch and/or undertake the Parkland Walk.

I had a very enjoyable visit and the walled gardens and multiple greenhouses a particular highlight. The food was also good. I think a drinks facility beyond the water garden would be good as it is a long walk before getting back to the cafe for a drink, especially on a hot day. A small kiosk or even a water fountain would suffice.