We have booked a private visit to Fittleworth House Garden
The House (not open) was built around 1720 from locally quarried stone as a home for the squire of the village. 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.
The garden includes a Cedar of Lebanon and a 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 long borders down the middle of the walled garden are planted each year with a mixture of beautiful Dahlias, and annuals for decorative effect.
The Head Gardener is Mark Saunders, a keen photographer. You can see more of his photographs of the garden at his website racing&green.com The garden will also feature in the April issue of Gardens Illustrated magazine.
The cost of the garden visit is £5 payable on the day.
After the visit we can have a light lunch at the nearby Fittleworth Stores, a community run shop and cafe.
For anyone wishing to do a photo walk in the afternoon, close to the cafe is the Wynkcoombe Arboretum (free public access). This is the creation of Nicholas Smith of Wyncombe Hill, who has planted over 800 trees and shrubs (of which about 700 are listed on the website). Many trees have a QR code which links to a description on the website. The Arboretum has a wild natural woodland appearance (see photo) rather than the more usual carefully managed parkland.
Further afield are many Downland walks or, continuing with the parks and gardens theme, circa 4 miles away is Petworth Park, a 700 acre deer park owned by the National Trust - free entry to the park, charge for parking except for NT members.