Wakehurst celebrates American Prairie anniversary

The American Prairie at Wakehurst near Haywards Heath was planted in 2020

Wakehurst Botanic Gardens is celebrating five years since its six-acre American prairie was sown.

The 500-acre site in Ardingly, near Haywards Heath in West Sussex, is also celebrating 10 years since its Coronation Meadow was opened to the public by King Charles, who was then Prince of Wales.

Wakehurst, which is home to the Millennium Seed Bank, said the American Prairie was one of its "most ambitious horticultural projects", with more than 75 species of plants.

Ian Parkinson, head of landscape and horticulture at Wakehurst, said mixing American prairie species with British soils was "horticultural alchemy".

Seventy-five species of plants grown from seeds collected in Illinois and surrounding US states are being grown at Wakehurst

"The prairie lights up the Wakehurst landscape with colour and character and teaches us that when plant communities are allowed to evolve organically, beauty, biodiversity, and climate resilience naturally follow," Mr Parkinson said.

The project began in 2019 when scientists from the Millennium Seed Bank travelled across Illinois and neighbouring states in the USA to hand-collect seeds to create seed-mixes tailored to Sussex's chalk-clay soils.

Horticulturalist Jack Harrison, who is in charge of the prairie, said: "You will not be able to predict what plant is going to grow in what spot and the benefit to doing this is that the plants will germinate in spaces that suit them.

"This means that you will never plant the wrong plant in the wrong place."

The Coronation Meadow is also celebrating a decade since it was created as part of the then Prince of Wales' call for more wildflower meadows to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation.