Joe Perkins is the designer of the A Garden for the Future at the National Trust’s Sheffield Park in Sussex and is known for his thoughtful, plant-led approach to historic landscapes. Through his work at one of Sussex’s most celebrated gardens, Joe brings together seasonal beauty, craftsmanship and a deep understanding of place. As a A three time medal-winner turned judge at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show, we are delighted to welcome him as a guest blogger.
When the National Trust first approached me about creating a new garden within the historic landscape at Sheffield Park, the brief began, simply enough, with wellbeing. But the more time I spent on site with the garden team - among those magnificent specimen trees, that ancient veteran oak, the clay soil cracking in summer and drowning in winter - the more I understood that something more urgent was being asked of us.
Britain's great historic gardens are under enormous pressure. Rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, waterlogged winters and the creeping advance of tree diseases are not distant threats. They are happening now, in gardens like Sheffield Park, where so many of the trees planted during the late Victorian era are showing the strain of conditions their original planters could never have anticipated.
The response, developed in true collaboration with Sheffield Park and Garden’s General Manager Pippa Reece and the garden team, was a Garden for the Future in the most literal sense: a half-acre experimental space where plants from the fortieth to forty-second parallels of the southern hemisphere - from Chile, Argentina, Tasmania, southern Australia and New Zealand are being trialled in the challenging clay conditions that define this part of Sussex. These are plants adapted to climates that mirror what our own may increasingly become. The question we are asking is a simple one: which of them will thrive here?
The garden has three distinct planting zones. The Dry Exotic beds, raised and filled with crushed recycled brick and sand, host the most eye-catching material: aloes, euphorbias, feijoa and the beautiful Prostanthera cuneata, an aromatic southern hemisphere shrub I am watching with particular interest as the garden enters its second year. The Gondwanan Forest area introduces southern hemisphere trees including Araucaria and Nothofagus, chosen for their ability to tolerate altitude and cold. And the Temperate Woodland offers a softer transition, with planting that blends back into the existing landscape through familiar species like Brunnera and azaleas.
None of this is done casually. Every planting decision has been informed by collaboration with Kelways Plants, climate data from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, Bristol University, and early consultation with horticulturist and plant hunter Tom Hart Dyke. The data the property team gathers will be shared with other National Trust properties and partner organisations. This garden is not just beautiful - it is a living research project, and the knowledge it yields belongs to all of us who care for the landscapes of Sussex and beyond.
This project would not have been possible without the collaboration and dedication of everyone involved. The teamwork between us, the Sheffield Park property team, The Landscaping Consultants, Oli Carter and carefully chosen suppliers was essential in realising the vision for the Garden of the Future. Each contribution, whether it was through design, craftsmanship, or landscaping, was crucial in creating a cohesive and harmonious space.
Sheffield Park and Garden has always been a place of horticultural experimentation. That is part of what makes it so special. What we have created here continues that tradition, while looking honestly at the challenges ahead. If our curiosity and our willingness to try new things can help secure these irreplaceable places for future generations, then every anxious glance at the weather forecast this last winter will have been entirely worth it.
Find out more about Joe and Sheffield Park: www.joeperkinsdesign.com | www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sheffieldpark | A garden for the future at Sheffield Park | National Trust
All images © Lawrence Perry & James Dobson / National Trust
