Sussex Prairie gardens, Henfield

Posted:24 November 2009

Today we visited the 6-acre Sussex Prairie garden near Henfield www.sussexprairies.co.uk absolutely inspirational if you love late-flowering perennials. Here the large borders have been planted in a free-flowing naturalistic style by owners Paul and Pauline McBride. The garden is sited on a farm and despite this being a relatively new garden, its maturity and connection with the the wider landscape is just sublime. A real advantage to using perennials: they mature and fill the space quickly, creating impact in a relatively short time.

The garden features many unusual varieties of herbaceous perennials Veronicastrums, Thalictrums, Persicarias, Sanguisorbas, Kniphofias and Hemerocallis. Plus huge drifts of ornamental grasses and Asters, and many varieties of Miscanthus, Panicums, Molinias, Sporobolis and Penisetum.

For further inspiration on late-flowering perennials, read Noel Kingsburys Natural Garden Style. A very informative book and I just love the cover design, an illustration by printmaker Angie Lewin www.angielewin.co.uk