Gardens > England > West Sussex > Sussex Prairie Garden

Sussex Prairie Garden

The Prairie Garden is a six acre garden with naturalistic planting, created by Paul and Pauline McBride. The garden is on a farm and surrounded by oak trees.

Head Gardener's Comment

The Prairie garden is relatively mature looking despite being so new, one of the great advantages of perennial planting. The garden is surrounded by mature oaks, with views of the iron age sites of Chanctonbury Ring and Devil's Dyke. As well as being of great interest to garden lovers, the farm also boasts rare breed sheep, and pigs living in the oak woods.

Photograph © Sussex Prairies

Photograph © Sussex Prairies

Photograph © Sussex Prairies

Photograph © Selina Botham/Designs for All Seasons

Photograph © Selina Botham/Designs for All Seasons

Photograph © Charlotte Weychan

Photograph © Charlotte Weychan

Photograph © Charlotte Weychan

Photograph © Sussex Prairies

History

Morlands Farm, site of the Prairie Garden, is mentioned in the Domesday Book, then known as "Morlei Farm." For the last 50 years our family has farmed the land. The main business being beef cattle, sheep and hay crops.
After 12 years working on a major garden design project in Luxembourg, during which Paul and Pauline were lucky enough to work with Piet Oudolf, the Sussex Prairie Garden was conceived.

Plants of note

The garden features many unusual varieties of herbaceous perennials, Veronicastrums, Thalictrums, Persicarias, Sanguisorbas, Kniphofias and Hemerocallis. Huge drifts of ornamental grasses and Asters extend the season of interest hugely. We have dozens of varieties of Miscanthus, Panicums, Molinias, Sporobolis and Penisetum