Visit the stunning gardens at Fittleworth House, Pulborough and support National Garden Scheme

Visit the stunning gardens at Fittleworth House, Pulborough and support National Garden Scheme charities.

Fittleworth House was built around 1720 from locally quarried stone as a home for the squire of the village. Currently the house (not open) is a full-time home and has been in the same family ownership for over fifty years. Its front is covered in a long-established Wisteria fronted by mixed flower beds.

The three-acre garden contains both formal and informal areas with much emphasis on wildlife and habitat creation. Most of the garden sits on a gentle eastward facing slope which is manageable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. The croquet lawn in front of the house is bordered on its southern edge by a magnificent Cedar of Lebanon and its northern edge by an imposing Holm Oak, both very tall and grand for their type and both planted around the 1740s.

Near the Cedar sits a natural looking stream, built using locally quarried stone and planted with many shade and moisture loving plants. The garden then gently slopes down to the fountain garden with its mixed flower borders, topiary and globe fountain with an established Yew hedge as backdrop.

An archway through the hedge then leads to a fully productive half acre walled garden and a romantic Apple tunnel. The vegetable beds are used to grow a wide range of fruit and vegetables for the house and staff. The long borders down the middle of the walled garden are planted each year with a mixture of beautiful Dahlias, annuals and vegetables for decorative effect. Just to the side of the walled garden is a smaller walled area where a large glasshouse and the potting sheds can be found.

There is also a Spring garden and wildlife pond, large Rhododendrons and Camellias. The father and son garden team will be on hand to answer any questions.

Fittleworth House Bedham Lane Fittleworth Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 1JH is open on the following days;

Wed 24th April (2pm-5pm)

Wed 1st, 8th, 15th May (2pm-5pm)

Wed 12th, 19th June (2pm-5pm)

Wed 10th, 17th, 24th July (2pm-5pm)

Wed 7th August (2pm-5pm)

Admission £5, children free. Light refreshments. Visit the National Garden Scheme website to book online https://ngs.org.ukor pay on the day.

Visits also by arrangement 22 Apr to 23 Aug for groups of 8 to 40. Weekdays only. Please visit the National Garden Scheme website for more details.

Direct link

https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/14546/fittleworth-house

For other West Sussex NGS gardens opening in Spring 24 click on the following link https://ngs.org.uk/west-sussex-spring-gardens/

The National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, and raises impressive amounts of money for some of the UK's best-loved nursing and health charities through admissions, teas and cake.

Thanks to the generosity of garden owners, volunteers and visitors we have donated more than £70 million to our beneficiary charities, and in 2023 made donations of over £3.4 million. Founded in 1927 to support district nurses, we are now the most significant charitable funder of nursing in the UK and our beneficiaries include Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK and The Queen’s Nursing Institute.

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 2017, we launched our annual Gardens and Health Week to raise awareness of the topic. Our funding also supports the training of gardeners and offers respite to horticultural workers who have fallen on difficult times.

To learn more about the National Garden Scheme, discover your perfect garden or find out how to open your own garden visit ngs.org.uk, download the National Garden Scheme app or pick up the National Garden Scheme Sussex 2024 Booklet.

Photo Judi Lion