IN BRIEF
What A coastal garden almost exclusively comprising ornamental grasses.
Where West Sussex.
Size A little over an acre.
Soil Chalky loam.
Climate Coastal; sunny and windy.
Hardiness zone USDA 9.
Visiting this sanctuary of a garden on the Sussex coast, designer Sophie Walker's bold yet self-restrained design comes as something of a surprise. After crossing a short lawn, you round the house, expecting to find perhaps some robust perennials, maybe a few escapee hollyhocks and a gentle sweep towards the shoreline. Instead you are met by a broad succession of contrasting grasses and a gravel pathway that beckons you in.
Lifting from the acre-deep grassland scheme are architectural specimen trees: gingko, and the arrow-leafed ; a lush, green and what appears to be a large and wild willow towards the back. The path leads you there; you are compelled to follow it for there is no other way forward. “The garden is not automatically revealing, like a lawn with borders,” says Sophie. “This is much more like pushing you through a passage. You actually have to make your way through it, and by doing that you find different vistas and viewpoints.” Indeed, as you walk, you sense a narrative unfolding.
