In 2021 RSA gave the Friends of Horsham Park a grant of £5,000 to help with the restoration of the Park House Sensory Garden to celebrate its 30th anniversary. RSA had given generous sponsorship towards the creation of the original garden 30 years ago. The garden was designed for everyone, but with a particular focus on people with mobility or sight issues, with wide stepless paths, wheelchair bays next to benches, and smooth round columns marking turns.
The project was launched as ‘Sense the Change’ and built upon the idea of inclusivity.
The work carried out
We worked with Horsham District Council and community groups on a number of improvements; some we were able to do immediately, and some were longer term but all aimed to continue the garden’s heritage of inclusivity and appeal to the senses.
Horsham District Council opened up the garden by cutting back the yew hedge and pruning the wisteria. This allowed us to do some replanting including for winter interest, for drought tolerance and for pollinators. Some of the landscape features were repaired and part of the grant was used to restore the Sungod sculpture. Additional seating was also provided.
The original planting had outgrown the space, there were gaps where shrubs had died. There were also brambles and weeds that had taken over in places.
We were delighted to be awarded two more grants for the two beds where we planted hollyhocks, cosmos and zinnia for a summer display.
The raised bed now showcases drought resistant planting funded by a Climate Change grant from Horsham District Council.
The fountain bed is now planted for year-round interest with a grant from the Sussex Gardens Trust.
In both cases the planting will still focus on the sensory theme for the garden and be pollinator friendly.
Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors Horsham District Council and Sussex Gardens Trust.
The curved bench
The Park House Sensory Garden in Horsham Park has a new addition designed to make it an even more enjoyable space; a curved bench. The bench was installed by the Friends of Horsham Park to commemorate the garden’s 30th anniversary.
In designing the bench, the Friends spoke with local groups about the need they had for the new bench. For example: seating in the shade; seating with arms to ease standing up, and space alongside the bench for wheelchairs and buggies. The bench seats eight people and its curved shape also enables deaf and hard of hearing people to face others in a way that a straight bench does not, which helps with facial expressions and lip-reading.
The curved bench was custom made, thanks to generous contributions from Sussex Community Foundation and Royal Sun Alliance. It is sited in a peaceful corner, mostly in shade, making it a perfect spot for groups or families to enjoy the garden.
On the other side of the garden, the Friends have also refurbished the love seat.
For the community
We want this to be a community project so please send us photos, memories or contributions you like to see us share.
Gardeners who have helped develop Park House Garden
No garden design is static. As each plant grows so does the design of a garden, changing and adapting as tastes and budgets change, plants lose their vigour, old varieties die out and new sometimes more pest resistant, varieties are introduced.
Over the 30 years since the garden was created, many people have been key to caring for and developing it, but there are some key people who deserve a special mention.
(Photo by Ian Nicol)
Paul Mort
Paul Mort, was one of a team from Architectural Garden Design (AGD) which carried out all the soft landscaping including buying the plants and planting them when the garden was created. The original brochure makes special reference to Paul saying: “The team took the project to heart so that many extras were carried out at no cost and special mention must go to Paul Mort, a local landscape gardener”.
What no one could foresee at that time was that the Park House Garden and Paul Mort’s future would be intimately linked: Paul was one of the main people who continued to look after the garden for many years to come. An expert horticulturalist remembers Paul as: “caring passionately about the garden”. He was “really interesting, having a wealth of tales to tell … a lovely man; a real character. He was really tough and hardworking; dedicated to his work and took real pride in Park House Garden.”
Some of his toughness was attributed to his former life as a jockey and his love of racing influenced his horticulture. – He used to schedule some tasks to coincide with major horse racing events – for example; the box hedging was always cut the week of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Remember Paul when you see his bench in the garden. It stands as a tribute to a man who nurtured this special place with so much love and care, working well into his 70’s.
John Marder
John Marder, a very knowledgeable horticulturalist, played a key role in the development of the garden. John fell into horticulture more or less by accident. After doing a series of jobs he gradually realised that being outdoors, working in gardens and close to nature made him happiest so he began his formal qualifications which led, amongst other things, to becoming a lecturer at Brinsbury College.
John remembers that his first task for HDC in 2007 was to work with Paul Mort on replanting the garden. They continued to work together for many years. As you sit in Park House Garden notice the glorious tree to the left of Park House. This is John’s favourite; called the Katsura tree and in the Autumn, it smells of burnt sugar!
Sharon Norman, a former Horticultural Officer for HDC remembers John taking groups of people with visual impairments around the garden and describing the plants to them. She also recalls that he replanted the lavender and iceberg rose border.
Sharon Norman
Sharon also made a significant contribution to the garden. As a keen artist, she used her skills to design a ribbon of roses in complimentary colours. She also introduced the alliums which are thriving and are so vital to pollinators. Sharon describes the PHG as being full of birds and people eating their sandwiches and feels that it is very rewarding to have been part of something which gives so much pleasure to so many.
Mark Baldwin
By February 2019 HDC realised that this special area of the park needed a talented gardener and before retiring, John Marder brought in Mark Baldwin to revive the garden. John said, “As a formally laid out intimate space, it is unique in the park and offers an opportunity for creative horticulture which Mark is truly now making happen”.
Creativity is in Mark’s DNA: formerly a jewellery designer, he decided to change career and follow his passion for gardening by taking formal qualifications in horticulture. His experience has been diverse, including Sussex Prairies, a Henfield based company which is part of the new perennial’s movement and prestigious gardens such as the National Trust’s Woolbeding Gardens.
Mark has sought to create a more welcoming atmosphere by reintroducing the original more open aspect of the garden. Lost plants were rediscovered whilst clearing neglected areas; old plants have been reinvigorated and plants with scent and colour replaced lost plants.
Hannah Neale
Another key person in the future of the garden is Hannah Neale in her role as Landscape and Horticultural Officer. Hannah has a wealth of experience in horticulture, having trained at Wisley and worked in parks departments since 2004; she joined HDC two weeks before the first lockdown in March 2020.
One of the first changes Hannah implemented was to cut back the overgrown yew hedge and entrance bay trees as this would open up the garden and make it more welcoming for visitors. Once the yew hedge had been cut back, it was noticeable how the plants on the raised bed had grown forwards to get the light and had outgrown the space.
The HDC Parks and Countryside Team and the Friends of Horsham Park worked on a joint project to renew the planting in the raised bed to respond to climate change by planting more drought tolerant plants. Hannah, with input from Mark, came up with a planting plan and the Friends successfully applied for an HDC Climate Change grant to fund the work.
Many people have requested more year-round planting in the garden, so Hannah has also redesigned the fountain bed to include winter planting. The Friends have been given a grant by Sussex Garden Trust (SGT) to plant up this bed and would like to thank Virginia Hinze from SGT who has already offered valuable expertise and support.