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Award-winning Denmans Garden is the former home and garden of the late John Brookes MBE, one of Britain’s most influential landscape designers and garden design authors. This tranquil four-acre garden was converted in the 1940s from market garden to ornamental garden by plantswoman Joyce Robinson who started the extensive gravel gardens in 1970. It features dry riverbeds, gravel gardens, a walled garden, conservatory, ponds and a broad variety of unusual plants that are integral to the garden’s overall design.

Visitors to the Festival can experience a snapshot of this contemporary country garden in which, owing to its unique location – sheltered by the South Downs to the north and enjoying good light and a mild climate – plants from the Mediterranean and other warmer climates blend seamlessly with those indigenous to West Sussex. This creates a garden – and a border, here – with an incredible diversity of plants and a distinctive, must-see planting style.

At a glance

 Who is this garden for? 
 A domestic garden.
Where is the garden set?
Denmans Garden in West Sussex.
Who or what is the design inspiration?
World-renowned landscape designer John Brookes MBE.
 

Key sustainability points

• The garden is primarily planted with drought tolerant plants that thrive in Sussex and require minimum maintenance. 
• The vast majority of plant material was either propagated or grown-on at Denmans Garden which is peat-free.
• The timber used is sustainable and some of the elements have been repurposed.
• The furnishings are used in the garden and will be returned to their original places.