National Garden Scheme West Sussex snowdrop gardens to visit this February and March

Each year the National Garden Scheme starts the garden visiting season with its inspirational Snowdrop and Spring Flower gardens. Hundreds of gardens sprinkled with snowdrops – these delightful harbingers of spring – and wonderful, colour contrasting spring blooms including the bright gold of aconites and soft purple of crocus, open their gates to the public from late January through February and into March.

“After the long, dark winter months, the appearance of these beautiful early spring flowers really lifts the spirits and heralds the start of all the wonderful gardens to come,” says National Garden Scheme Chief Executive, George Plumptre. “Year on year more and more people discover the joys of these late winter / early spring garden visits, many of which are accompanied by tea and cake.

Eight beautiful gardens open their gates in West Sussex in February and March, as part of this wonderful celebration of the new garden visiting season.

For descriptions and more details about the gardens listed below visit the National Garden Scheme Website

Sunday 11th February

Sandhill Farm House Rogate GU31 5HU

Refreshments Home-made teas.

Admission Adult: £5.00 Child: Free

Opening times 12:00 - 16:00

Thursday 15th February

Highdown Gardens Worthing BN12 6FB

Admission By Donation

Opening times 10:00 - 16:30

Every Thursday from 8th February

The Old Vicarage Washington RH20 4AS Book your tickets in advance on the NGS website

Refreshments Light refreshments. Self-service light refreshments: Picnics welcome.

Admission Adult: £7.00 Child: Free

Opening times 10:00 - 17:00

Also open on other dates in April, May, June, August and by arrangement, see NGS website for details.

Sunday 18th February and Sunday 17th March

Manor of Dean Petworth GU28 9AP

Book your tickets in advance on the NGS Website or you can just turn up and pay on the day.

Refreshments Home-made teas.

Admission Adult: £5.00 Child: Free

Opening times14:00 - 16:00

This garden opens for By Arrangement visits from 5 February to 14 June for groups of 20+.

Sunday 17th March

Denmans Garden Fontwell BN18 0SU

Pre-booking essential, please contact the garden owner (details within the Owner Info tab on the NGS Website) to book.

Refreshments Light refreshments.

Admission Adult: £9.00 Child: £7.00

Opening times11:00 - 16:00

Saturday 23rd March and Sunday 24th March

Downs Place South Harting GU31 5PN

Book your tickets in advance on the NGS Website or you can just turn up and pay on the day.

Refreshments Home-made teas & cream teas.

Admission Adult: £5.00 Child: Free

Opening times13:30 - 17:30

Also open By Arrangement from 2nd January for group of 15+

Friday 29th March

Judy’s Cottage Garden Worthing BN13 2AE Book your tickets in advance on the NGS Website or you can just turn up and pay on the day.

Refreshments Home-made teas.

Admission Adult: £5.00 Child: Free

Opening times10:30 - 15:30

New for 2024

Thursday 29th February and Tuesday 5th March

Crossland Flower Nursery Walberton BN18 0AX A 2 hr all access tour of a fourth generation, award-winning, sustainably run flower nursery with 3 acres of glasshouses filled to the brim with Sussex grown alstroemeria. There will be an opportunity to purchase flowers at the end of the tour.

For this open day you need to pre-book your ticket in advance on the NGS Website

Refreshments Tea.

Admission Adult: £10.00 Child: Free

Opening times10:00 - 12:00

About the National Garden Scheme

The National Garden Scheme was founded in 1927 by The Queen’s Nursing Institute to raise money for district nurses. Ever since then it has given annual donations to nursing and health charities totalling over £67 million. It gives visitors unique, affordable access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands and raises impressive amounts through admission charges and the sale of tea and cake.

Thanks to the generosity of garden owners, volunteers and visitors we are now the most significant charitable funder of nursing in the UK. As well as the Queen’s Nursing Institute, our beneficiaries include Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK and Parkinson’s UK.

The National Garden Scheme doesn’t just open beautiful gardens for charity – we are passionate about the physical and mental health benefits of gardens too. We fund projects which promote gardens and gardening as therapy, and in 2016 commissioned The Kings Fund report Gardens and Health Our Gardens and Coronavirus 2020: The importance of gardens and outdoor spaces during lockdown report was published in September 2020.

Visit https://ngs.org.uk for more information about the work of the National Garden Scheme, to search for gardens opening in your area or to find out how to open your own garden.