A more attractive and accessible entrance to the Gardens was created in 2005.
Highdown Gardens is Worthing’s premier horticultural site, and is a ‘Green Flag’ award winner. The town is therefore justifiably proud of the gardens and the plant collection that lies within.
With repeated comments from ‘Green Flag’ judges, it became clear that the garden’s entrance no longer complied with legislation on disability discrimination. There was also an issue with the public crossing the road from the car park into the gardens. In the light of this, the long process of attaining the necessary funds to re-landscape the area began.
Funds were finally realised in 2005 through capital provided by the council, public donations and the trust fund, which helps maintain Highdown Gardens and the works were completed within a month.
The planting on site is a mixture of herbaceous planting and shrubs. The main pathway is lined with Lonicera pileata, to create a formal edge and to retain the soil from the bank.
All of the mature trees on the site were kept, creating a pleasant structure for the rest of the project to follow.
The resulting scheme catches the eye, and is a pleasant and suitably formal introduction to one of the area’s premier plant collections.
