************* Garden Owners, Please copy this information and paste it into an email to: wb [at] armchair-travel [dot] com Please make any changes in BRIGHT RED in your email back to us. Regards, Armchair Travel Co Ltd http://www.armchair-travel.com ************* Garden Name: West Dean Gardens Last Modified: 12/01/2011 Garden ID: 0039 pic: 0039_westdean.jpg Owner: Ellen Cheshire, Head of Communications Address: West Dean Chichester Postcode: PO18 0QZ County: West Sussex tel: 01243 818210 fax: 01243 811342 website: www.westdean.org.uk email: celia.dickinson {at} westdean.org.uk Features: Liriodendron: Tulip tree Aesculus: Horse Chestnut Tree. Walled Kitchen Garden and Victorian glasshouses English Heritage Grade: II* Opening Times: 1st March - 31st October; every day; 10.30am - 5pm, last entry 4.30pm. 1st Nov - 28th Feb; every day; 10.30am - 4pm. Last entry 3.30pm Best Times of Year to Visit: June, July and August To see: Herbaceous borders and pergola with roses. National Collection: Liriodendron and Aesculus National Garden Scheme days: Yes Comments: 1st June Parties / Coaches: Yes Comments: 15+ £6.50 per person, Nov - Feb 2012 £4.25 Viewing by Appointment: Yes Comments: House Open for Viewing: Yes Comments: only 2nd & 3rd Oct for Apple Affair Admission Prices: Mar - Oct: Adult £8; Child £4; Over 60s £7.50; Family £20 (2 adults + 2 children under 16) Nov - Feb: Adult £5; Child £2.50; Over 60s £4.50; Family £12.505 Parking: Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes Shop: Yes Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: Yes Teas: Yes Refreshments: Yes Picnics: Yes Dogs allowed: No Only on Lead: No Events: Yes Other Facilities: only assistance dogs allowed, other dogs only on Parkland Walk on lead on non-event days, limited disabled access. Dates for 2011 Garden Events Garden lecture - Rain Gardens 5th Feb; 10.30am - 3pm £59 (incl tea, coffee and lunch) Garden Lecture - Plant Hunting 16th Apr; 10am - 3pm £59 (incl tea, coffee and lunch) MedFest - Taste of Mediterranean 9/10th July 10.30am - 5pm, £10 (on the door)/£8.50 (online) plus concessions Chilli Fiesta Friday 5, Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 August, 10.30am - 5pm West Dean Festival - 26th - 29th Aug; see own website for details Apple Affair 1st - 2nd October Designer: Description of Garden: Set in the rolling South Downs, West Dean is a 35 acre garden on an expansive scale and was HHA/Christie's Garden of the Year 2002. Its sweeping lawns punctuated by venerable trees help to balance the scale of the plantings and relate the gardens to the landscape. The 300 ft pergola, designed by Harold Peto, running east-west across the North Lawn is undoubtedly the most spectacular feature of the formal gardens. At its eastern end, the Sunken Garden with spring and summer bedding, has replaced a late Victorian rose parterre. In the Spring Garden, one of the oldest parts of the grounds, a complete redevelopment of the area has now been undertaken, reinstating lost features such as the Laburnum Tunnel. The charming Summerhouses have been beautifully restored, using natural materials, and extensive work has taken place on the Regency stone and flintwork around the watercourses, and a naturalistically-planted pond created. The restored Walled Kitchen Garden features some of the finest Victorian glasshouses in the country. Thirteen in total, packed full of exotic flowers, seasonal fruit and vegetables - from orchids to nectarines, peppers and cucumber, tomatoes to aubergines. There is an impressive display of over 100 varieties of apples in the Fruit Garden and an abundance of colour in the Vegetable Garden's Hot Border. History: Dating from 1622, West Dean's rare trees were mentioned by Loudon in 1836. In 1891 the property was purchased by William James, who requested Harold Peto in 1910 to design the extraordinary pergola. Local Inns: The Fox Goes Free, Charlton The White Horse at Chilgrove Accomodation: Chichester Lodge, Oakwood, Chichester Forge Hotel, Chilgrove, Chichester Cedar House, Chichester Restaurants: Village/Town/Sightseeing: Chichester