A Grade II* listed garden is celebrating 130 years of planting excellence in its 383-acre heritage parkland.

From June 12 to 18, Borde Hill in Haywards Heath, will welcome visitors to its Grade II listed mansion house at the heart of the garden, which is opening exclusively open for tours.

The tours are to celebrate 130 years since visionary owner Colonel Stephenson Robert Clarke first created the “magnificent” collection of rare trees and flowering shrubs across the estate.

Visitors can pre-book access to the Elizabethan mansion house and see plants gathered from explorations around the world from 1893 onwards.

A spokeswoman for Borde Hill said: “The nationally important collection of exotic plants and champion trees continue to represent the very best in British gardening.

“Stephenson Clarke was a visionary Sussex horticulturalist who influenced the way we garden today.”

For the guided walks, each group will be led by Borde Hill’s head of horticulture Harry Baldwin to discover trees and shrubs which celebrate the past, present and future of horticultural planting excellence at Borde Hill.

  • For those who are interested in visiting, tickets are available here: https://bordehill.co.uk/events/130-years-of-planting-excellence/