After improvements during the lockdown costing £1,000,000, Worthing's famous Highdown Gardens are set to reopen on Wednesday (June 2nd).
According to the borough council, the reopening of the gates will allow the public to see the gardens "explode into a riot of exotic summer colour."
Due to Covid restrictions visitors will initially have to book on the Highdown website, and there will be a limit of 30 people at one time until rules are lifted, which may be June 21st or later.
Time slots will be given and social distancing measures will be in place although the entry will remain free.
The gardens are owned by Worthing Borough Council and have been improved thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The money was spent to preserve the legacy of the Gardens' founder Sir Frederick Stern, who reportedly battled against the odds to create a famous garden of exotic plants from around the world on unforgiving chalk soil.
The borough council added that the funds have also been used to increase accessibility to the gardens and to tell the story, both social and horticultural, of the establishment of Highdown between the World Wars, and after.
A new visitors' centre has replaced the old head gardener's bungalow, with new pathways allowing wheelchair access from the entrance to the new building and onto a new sensory garden.
New greenhouses have also been built to help conserve plants and to breed some of the endangered species within the garden.
A new plant heritage officer was expected to have begun the task of discovering and cataloguing all of the plants that Stern grew in the garden, many of which came from China and the Far East, brought to Highdown by plant hunters.
Highdown Gardens project manager Gwenn Parker-Tregoat said:
"We are really excited to announce the reopening of the gardens.
"Thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund a huge amount of work to enhance the gardens has been undertaken.
"We are sure visitors, returning and new alike, will find much to enjoy and discover.
"I want to thank our construction workers, gardeners and volunteers for the incredible work they have all put in to helping us take Highdown to the next important stage of its life.
"This work has guaranteed it a long-term future.
"We cannot wait to see you all back again in our beloved gardens soon."
For more information on the background to the project visit: https://www.highdowngardens.co.uk/
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