West Dean College

West Dean gardens in Sussex have had a fair amount of publicity recently, but unfortunately these short pages don't really do them justice. They're part of the West Dean College main page, which aims to inform about the courses, conferences, and events that take place there. The simple text-dominated style is easy to use, but it would be lovely to see more illustrations.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Gardens

From the main page, scroll down to find the gardens link. Although the gardens date back nearly 400 years, it's the two-and-a-half acre walled kitchen garden with fully restored Victorian greenhouses that have made the gardens popular, not least through the writing of the head gardener, Jim Buckland. The gardens are open from March to October, and there's a restaurant, shop, and plant sales.

Courses

The college also offers a huge range of craft and gardening weekend courses and study days throughout the year, as well as special events like apple days and chili pepper weekends. To find the list of courses, scroll down to the bottom of the gardens page and follow the link. Subjects covered vary enormously, and include for example designing a potager, using scented plants, botanical illustration, willow weaving, and seaside gardening.