It was raining, it was pouring and we needed to rise up from a dreary Sunday! We headed for West Dean Gardens, West Sussex. We were greeted by the magnificent 100 metre long Edwardian pergola providing beautifully framed views of the South Downs – this stunning landscape never fails to impress – the sun shone for a bench picnic and off we headed to the Spring gardens. Following the pathway along the waters’ edge the garden was beautiful, providing romantic views of bridges and water features, all bordered by the ever changing autumn trees. The seed heads in the large grass planted bed provided wonderful architectural highlights, combined with evergreen structural interest. Time for the rain to visit again and a dash back to some shelter…lungfuls of fresh air, inspiration and another great Sussex garden.