National Trust explores climate adaptation in new 'Garden for the Future’ at Sheffield Park and Garden, in landscape’s first major refresh in more than 70 years

With this new garden space, the conservation charity has seized the opportunity to adapt and innovate as it tackles the challenges of caring for the heritage landscape in a changing climate, using science and experimentation in horticulture, in line with Sheffield Park and Garden’s history.

A horticultural work of art, Sheffield Park and Garden was formed through centuries of visionary landscape design, with influences of ‘Capability’ Brown and Humphry Repton. More than a century ago, Arthur Gilstrap Soames pushed boundaries with innovative and bold colour schemes, new plant hybrids and experimental planting of species from around the world.

The 120-acre garden provided the scale and opportunity to indulge Soames’ lifelong passion for horticulture and provided a testbed for observing how species around the globe adapted to different climates and growing conditions. Combined with learnings from leading horticulturist of the day, E.A. Bowles, he was able to trial new methods in his vision for the future.

Now, in keeping with this pioneering spirit and with the help of three-time RHS Chelsea award-winning garden designer, Joe Perkins, the National Trust has made its own contribution to this legacy with a new design with sustainability and climate resilience at its core. The new space has transformed a corner of around half an acre – once used for propagation – into a new visitor experience designed to inform, inspire and refresh.

General Manager Pippa Reece said: “We’re using curiosity, experimentation and pioneering approaches to manage this spectacular garden. Garden for the Future is the springboard to a deeper understanding of our changing climate and how we can curate the wider garden for future generations to enjoy.”

Alongside this project the National Trust is taking a scientific approach to climate adaptation, sustainability and the preservation of living heritage. In recent years, significant specimens in the collection at Sheffield Park have suffered with extremes in temperature and rainfall and some are nearing the end of their natural life. The garden team are working with a wide range of partners to understand how to edit and add to the collection to create resilience for the future.

Garden for the Future reflects Sheffield Park’s horticultural heritage, looking to other parts of the world to showcase how plants can adapt to different environments. Learnings from the project will help inform succession planting plans and future garden developments and importantly, offer opportunities for continued professional learning for teams within the National Trust and beyond.

Head Gardener Jodie Hilton said: “The new garden provides an opportunity to engage visitors with a different style of planting, adapted to a different climate and planting environment, than they might see in the rest of the landscape at Sheffield Park, while taking inspiration from the garden surrounding it.

“We hope visitors will take a moment to pause and reflect in nature, in a corner of the landscape that was often overlooked until now.”

Joe Perkins’ design is intended to take visitors into another world, distinct, but not apart from, the surrounding arboretum. Inspiration for the new garden comes from the existing conifer collection, with the exoticism of species such as Athrotaxis laxifolia and Podocarpus salicifolia linking to the sub-alpine plants of Tasmania and the cool coastal forests of central and southern Chile.

A series of distinct areas, linked by meandering paths, are set among sweeping beds with space allowed for sightlines and views into the garden beyond:

Area 1: Dry exotic

Planting here is mostly in raised beds, allowing the use of species from the sub-alpine habitats of parts of Tasmania, New Zealand, central and southern Chile and southern Argentina. There are also striking, resilient and architectural plants such as coppiced Eucalyptus species, Maytenus boaria from Chile/Argentina, and Chamaerops humilis from the southern Mediterranean and North Africa. Tones here are glaucous, blue-grey and some intense greens, with shots of fiery reds and orange summer colours.

Area 2: Gondwanan forest

Moving westwards, the planting becomes more focused on southern hemisphere temperate forest, the tones becoming greener and the plants a little leafier. Inspired by the hilly mid-altitude forests of central Chile and Argentina, species include Nothofagus antarctica, Araucaria and Tetrapanax, for its architectural leaves. Ginger lilies and the red flowers of giant Lobelia tupa add to the slightly jungley feel. Many species originate from the ‘Gondwanan’ supercontinent which linked Australasia with South America, Africa, India and Antarctica.

Area 3: Temperate woodland

A quieter series of spaces, and providing a transition to the wider gardens, this area sits mostly under the existing tree canopy. Large spreads of ground covering ferns, shade-tolerant grasses and perennial forget-me-not are interspersed with woodland shrubs such as Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’ and azalea species.

Once the plants are established, the team will begin to test tolerance to drought and extreme temperatures. Planting in raised beds allows the testing of drier soil and ‘exotic’ species from around the globe. Shorter lived perennials and sub-shrubs might be expected to tolerate higher summer temperatures with an assumption that the risk of severe winter cold is less likely during their lifespan, whereas longer-lived trees have been selected with a more conservative level of risk in mind. The team will record species’ success, measuring against temperatures and rainfall at different times of year and over an extended period.

Enjoyable throughout the year, but particularly adding seasonal interest in spring and summer, the new planting scheme brings texture, structure and colour palettes not seen elsewhere in the garden.

Joe Perkins said: “A core principle of the planting scheme is resilience. Early on, we identified the need for plants which can tolerate both extended periods of drought, and potentially heat, as well as cold winter temperatures. We’ve created different planting habitats which will allow the team to explore plants from around the world that could be better adapted to future conditions.

“From drier raised beds to shadier, wetter woodland planting, we’re continuing with Arthur Soames’ experimental approach as we tackle the challenges and opportunities that climate change is predicted to bring us.”

The design seeks to interest and intrigue visitors, allowing them to be immersed in nature, mindful and escape day to day thoughts and worries. Curved solid wood benches and pebble seats, made from UK-sourced sequoia and designed with accessibility, sustainability and longevity in mind, add much-needed seating and areas for connection with others or quiet contemplation. These were crafted by Sussex-based furniture designer and maker Oli Carter.

The Trust has looked beyond its boundaries to develop the new garden, consulting with internal and external specialists, staff, volunteers, visitors, supporters and community partners Headway Sussex and Grow.

Since landscaping work started in January 2024, National Trust supporters and visitors have been invited to engage with the new space as it took shape; suggesting names for the new space and helping plant more than 4,500 plants during the project’s final phase.

Sheila Das, National Trust Head of Gardens and Parks, said: “The team at Sheffield Park are bringing huge energy to an already stunning landscape. Our gardens never sit still so, to keep enjoying the garden’s beauty into the future, we must constantly experiment.

“In the wider garden, the team are looking into how the planting can be adapted for the future and in the Garden for the Future, visitors can enjoy a brand-new concept that sits well in the landscape but brings something new and inspiring.”

Members of The Royal Oak Foundation, the National Trust’s partner in the United States, have generously donated funds to support the project. The project has also been made possible in part by a generous gift left in a will for the benefit of the garden at Sheffield Park.

Landscape build for Garden for the Future was by The Landscaping Consultants, with plants supplied by Kelways nursery in Somerset.