Little B&B on the Prairie

On a little farm in West Sussex, a stone’s throw away fromthe village of Henfield, sits a delightful B&B shielding a humongoussurprise behind its romantic private garden. Not the collection of hairy,speckled piggies that run to oinkily greet you as you pass through the oakwoods or the chickens who welcome you with a chorus of clucks but a longwinding path that opens out onto six acres of breath-taking English prairie hummingwith harmonious colour. Welcome to Sussex Prairies Garden.

Click Images to Enlarge 
Laid out in a Fibonacci-esque spiral fashion you areencouraged to escape the formal green paths and enter the network of hidden trailswithin the borders. The reward is to walk amongst tall perennials and billowinggrasses to be at one with plant, bee and butterfly, absorbing the sights,sounds, smells and textures at first hand.

The owners and designers Paul & Pauline McBride havecreated a unique relaxed experience here for visitors to the garden. Returning to West Sussexin 2009 after working on large projects in Luxembourg and also alongsidenaturalistic landscape and garden designer Piet Oudolf, the couple took on the incredibleproject of transforming the six acres of farmland into the Sussex PrairiesGarden.

 
Nothing is done in half measures here, layer upon layer ofgreat stonking strokes of colour and texture allow you really focus on the plants meritswithout distraction. With over 30,000 plants to choose from, the paths singwith the sound of insects feasting on the smorgasbord of rainbow nectar serveddaily throughout the summer.

The hub of the garden is a barn of a building festooned withpretty vintage bunting serving delicious mummy made cakes alongside exquisite coffee.This weekend was our second visit of late which saw a lively plant, art and craftfair attracted huge numbers of plant lovers and hunters cramming trollies,bags, pockets and hats with every conceivable must-grow they could lay theirgreen fingers on!
Laura Ingalls and Nellie Olsen never had a prairie likethis......