What to do on a Wet Friday morning…

Posted:6 August 2015

Well, we decided to visit the gardens at Parham House! Even in the pouring rain, the colourful herbaceous borders were bursting with colour www.parhaminsussex.co.uk

The visit came about after an invitation from Henry Macaulay and Max Crisfield, both ex-students of Bridgette’s and now gardeners at Parham. They and head gardener Tom Brown have been inspired by the blog created to track the activities of The Garden House’s regular Friday gardening group, and so generously decided to invite the group along for a special tour of the gardens given by Tom.

Gardeners Henry Macaulay and Max Crisfield

Do check out our Garden House blog fridaygardeninggroup.wordpress.com it is brilliantly written every week by Friday gardener Sharon…

We were inspired. Not only by the great planting at Parham, but by all the trial work they are doing too – we particularly loved the trial of 100 varieties of sunflowers which looked amazing. Parham is one of the country’s finest Elizabethan Houses (which you can visit), and the gardens consist of beautiful Pleasure Grounds and a four-acre Walled Garden with stunning herbaceous borders, a glasshouse, vegetable garden, orchard and even a 1920s Wendy House.

It is certain that the garden pre-dates the house – it is thought the land was first cultivated as far back as the 14th century by its owners, monks from the monastery of Westminster. The site’s open aspect, sheltered by the South Downs, would no doubt have made it an appealing location with a productive fruit and vegetable garden.

Head gardener Tom Brown showing us his soggy borders!

The garden is now run on organic principles, producing its own compost and is able to be self-sufficient, providing enough mulch and rich compost for the entire site. It is managed by a dedicated team of six, lead by Tom, who work long hours in all weathers aided by a troupe of invaluable garden volunteers. “Gardens are about atmosphere and mood as well as planting. A positive tranquility is something we pride ourselves on.”

There’s also an amazing Plant & Garden Shop with plants grown at Parham by the team, so you can take home your very own piece of Parham Gardens.

Our thanks to all the Parham Gardens team, we had a truly inspiring morning out despite the rain!

Look out for the Parham Harvest Fair, 26 & 27 September 2015 – “Celebrating the abundance of Autumn and harvest time, Parham’s Harvest Fair brings together the very best of homemade food, locally grown produce and small holding, as well as activities such as deer walks and seasonal cookery demonstrations.”