Nymans Gardens
Deep in the glorious Sussex countryside, and covering over 12 hectares, Nymans is regarded as a very homely garden on a grand scale. It was originally designed by a German family in the Victorian era around a manor house, with advice from the top garden designers of the day.
In 1890, the German owner of Nymans, Ludwig Messel re-designed the garden round his home. He was advised by the foremost garden designers of the time, William Robinson and the arts & crafts stylist Gertrude Jeckyll. Jeckyll pioneered informal planting within formal design and indeed, Nymans has been described as ‘bits and pieces garden’ with both formal and informal styles. It is also a very busy garden, crowded with flowers and plants.
In 1923 the Messel family pulled down the old house and rebuilt a fake medieval manor. Tragically, the house around which it was designed burnt down in 1947. Despite this setback, the gardens carried on, with the burnt walls claimed by nature and eventually becoming part of the garden. A couple of years later, it was one of the first gardens in the country selected for special preservation status by the National Trust, who continue to maintain it today.