The Garden at Nymans

Set high above the Sussex Weald the garden holds a stunning collection of magnolias, eucryphias, camellias and rhododenrons, together with one of the largest collections of South American plants in the UK. Planted in the 1890s by German émigré, Ludwig Messel, the spirit of the Messel family is reflected in the constantly evolving plant designs. With views of the rolling Wealden landscape in one direction and the South Downs in the other, the garden combines the formality of topiary and a rock garden with the informality of sweeping naturalistic planting and drifts of colourful plants.

Spring in the garden at Nymans

View across the lawn towards the house with rhododendrons lining the flower borders

The garden 

Romantic ruins, intimate gardens, and internationally recognised plant collections against a backdrop of Wealden woodland - Nymans is a garden lover's paradise.

Azaleas lining the driveway in spring

Flamboyant rhododendrons 

With their bold, bright flowers, rhododendrons come in many different forms and sizes. These majestic specimens have a long history at Nymans and form part of the significant plant collection here.

Nymans wall garden in spring

Springtime  

The wall garden is at it's best in spring with frothy blossom, waxy magnolias and bulbs bursting into bloom each day.

Magnolia in the wall garden

Magnificent magnolias  

Magnolias blow the trumpets for the start of spring with blowsy, but elegant, flowers. Nymans has five Magnolias named after people connected to the garden - see if you can spot them all when you visit.

Pink magnolia against a vivid blue sky

What to spot in March  

With pastel-coloured bulbs and swathes of daffodils and crocuses, these early flowers are a welcome sight in the first early days of spring.

Snowdrops in bloom in front of the ruined Great Hall

A Garden in the Ruins  

The ruined Great Hall is being transformed into an intimate theatrical space in which the story of the Messel family and their passion for plants at Nymans can be told. The garden opens in late April and will continue to be developed with new plants and structural features over the coming years.

Walking your dog at Nymans

Walking your dog at Nymans 

In 2020 we welcome dogs into the garden from 2 November 2020 until spring 2021 and between the hours 1.30pm until 4pm. Dogs are not permitted in the garden at other times. Dogs are welcome throughout the year in the woods and in the outdoor seating area of the café. Please note that we ask dogs to be kept under close control in the woodland during bird nesting season from 1 March until 31 August.

Plant conservation at Nymans

Charlene Chick at Nymans

The Nursery 

Nymans is a grade II listed garden because of it's significant plant collection. We have one of the most interesting and diverse collections of plants in The National Trust.

Nymans Eucryphia x nymansensis Nymans Silver

The South American Comber Collection 

Harold Comber's plant hunting expeditions of the last century, to far flung places across the globe, form the basis of the significant Chilean collection you'll find at Nymans today.

" I think that the garden may fitly be described as the triumph of hope. It was always full of experiments, it gave endless pleasure, and if you walk through it, you will see the careful thought that was bestowed on each plant."
- Muriel Messel, 1918, writing in A Garden Flora

Garden news

Using harvested rainwater to water in the nursery

BBC Gardener's World at Nymans 

Gardener's World presenter, Mark Lane, met the garden team to get the low down on how we garden sustainably, making Nymans one of the greenest places cared for by the National Trust.

The team collecting in the field

Following in the footsteps of the Plant Hunters  

In January 2018 representatives from horticultural and botanical institutions made a field trip to Tasmania, following in the footsteps of plant hunter Harold Comber and his trip to of the 1930s.