Wheatley House

About Wheatley House

Wheatley House was originally a C16 farmhouse, surrounded by hop fields and orchards. It is now a Grade II listed building with elegant gothic style windows, an unusual feature of the late C18 extension. Situated on a rural hilltop with extensive views over Alice Holt Forest and the South Downs, the terraced, south-facing lawns proved a challenging canvas for artist Susannah Adlington who moved here with her family in 1981 to start ‘painting’ a garden. Over the years Susannah, who admits to being much more of an artist than a plantswoman, has had great fun creating a garden full of interesting and unusual planting combinations. She is helped by her enthusiastic part-time gardener, Ivan, and husband Michael mows the lawns! The sweeping, mixed borders are particularly attractive with spectacular colour throughout the season. The black, white and red border is very popular with visitors. ‘ We are very lucky on several counts’, says Susannah, ‘as we are surrounded by old brick and stone walls (keeping out the destructive elements of wildlife!) and we have excellent neutral upper greensand soil and a large Victorian lean-to greenhouse, enabling us to over-winter tender perennials and take cuttings.

By arrangement visits
Refreshments and prices for these to be arranged with individual groups.