How Does The Garden Grow At Ashdown Park?

Garden enthusiasts will once again have a chance to unearth the secrets of the beautiful gardens and grounds at Ashdown Park.

The 186-acres of parkland at the award-winning country house hotel at Wych Cross, near Forest Row, which is normally only open to hotel guests, will be open to the public on Sunday, May 18th, from 2pm to 5pm. 

This is the 12th year the gardens have been open to the public under the National Gardens Scheme. Over the years they have attracted thousands of visitors and been one of the charity's most popular gardens in East Sussex, raising thousands of pounds for a variety of causes.

Attractions include:

• A circular secret garden
• Lakes, streams and water features
• Parkland and ornamental gardens
• A 130-year-old Wellingtonia tree that is listed as one of the tallest trees in Sussex

Ashdown Park is one of very few hotels with its own greenhouse and flowerbeds providing bedding plants and cut flowers for hotel use.  Each year the Ashdown Park gardeners produce 76% - around 5,000 - of the bedding plants required for the grounds.

Visitors will also be able to see the progress of restoration work, which started in 2005 on the walled garden with the planting of herbaceous perennials, roses, lime trees, box hedging and wall-trained fruit trees.

Ashdown Park has a fascinating history, having been a private house, World War One convalescent home, convent and, latterly, a management training centre, before being bought in 1993 to be transformed into a luxury hotel.  Since then extensive work has been carried out to restore the gardens to their former glory. 

The estate lies on Ashdown Sands, which are the oldest surface rocks of The Weald.  It is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including herds of Fallow Deer that graze on many areas around the estate.

Admission to the gardens at Ashdown Park costs £3 and all the proceeds from the admission price will go to National Gardens Scheme charities. Teas and refreshments will be available when the grounds are open.