Occasionally, you come across a garden whose custodians are so attuned to its rhythms that it feels like an actual dialogue is taking place between the gardeners and the land under their stewardship. Highlands, a truly glorious eight-acre site set on the High Weald of East Sussex, is one such place.
Perched on a west-facing slope and surrounded by acres of ancient woodland, wildflower meadow and heathland, its position could hardly be more idyllic. Not that the site is without its challenges. The upper terraces sit on a ridge of pure sand, while at the bottom of the slope is a seam of heavy Wealden clay. In summer the higher ground bakes. In winter, ephemeral streams appear as water flows and rises through the sandstone bedrock. Such complex hydrology might sound daunting, but the owner and his Kew-trained garden team – led by head gardener Chris Brown and specialist propagator Suzanne
