A very big thank you to the National Lottery Awards for All, Sussex Community Foundation, and Lewes Town Council for awarding us grants that will help fund the Lewes House Project this year. The Mosaic Project, including the Lewes House Garden Project, was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund from Feb 2023 to Jan 2026.

Lewes Mosaic: The Lewes House Garden Project

Our three aims

·        renovate the historic Lewes House garden

·        enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of gardening

·        make Lewes a more biodiverse welcoming place for wildlife

 To find out more contact Anne-Marie Bur.

Who this project is for

We welcome beginners as well as experienced gardeners, and people with varying levels of mobility. Gardeners in our sessions tell us how a couple of hours each week of gentle exercise outdoors in all seasons improves physical health in all kinds of ways. The mental/emotional benefits are even more apparent – the sense of purpose, and sharing with others to achieve it, the optimism that is part of gardening, learning to deal with the failures, close observation of plants through the seasons – all these strengthen our resilience. Everyone suffers from anxiety or low mood sometimes – whether from work, studies, our digital world, isolation, family life or past trauma – for a few hours a week many find solace and an immediate sense of achievement in sowing seeds, weeding, watering, planting and pruning. We also welcome people dealing with memory loss and can sometimes provide one-to-one support where needed.

If you are unsure whether gardening is for you, please feel free to contact us and we will answer any questions and arrange for a taster session.

Session Times

There are three sessions a week:

Tuesday: 10am - 12 midday

Tuesday: 1.30pm - 3.30pm

Friday:    10am - 12 midday

Sessions are led by qualified staff who will guide you through activities but are also open to suggestions.

To find out more contact Anne-Marie Bur

Volunteer Opportunities

We have participants from time to time who benefit from one-to-one support. If you would like to combine gardening and supporting others and have some relevant background – professional or informal, we would love to hear from you. Contact us if you are interested in volunteering opportunities

Lewes Mosaic Project - helping to grow a mosaic of wildlife-rich habitats across the town

The Lewes Mosaic project (Feb 2023 to Feb 2026), funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and working in partnership with the Railway Land Wildlife Trust, Wildflower Lewes, Lewes Swift Supporters and Lewes Urban Arboretum, delivered an exciting programme of wildlife surveys and workshops to identify the rich biodiversity present and potential in allotments, gardens and other green sites around Lewes. We have posted the results of these surveys and workshops in our Mosaic blog

Our Newsletters offered top tips on supporting wildlife in our allotments and gardens at different times of year.

The results of responses to our survey from 90 participants with allotments on 14 sites in and around Lewes can be viewed here. In summary 96.5% of respondents said growing fruit and vegetables was most important to them. Second most important was supporting and enjoying wildlife at 58.1%.  70% of respondents said that they are interested in monitoring wildlife on their plot.

Wilding the garden

Here is a list of the garden plants that are most attractive to pollinators with photos of the flowers

Biodiversity and rewilding are hot topics right now. It is therefore a real breath of fresh air to be able to offer a sanctuary for bees, butterflies and many other insects and wild creatures here at Lewes House Garden. We have been creating habitats for hedgehogs, planting nectar rich flowers, and growing the food plants for insect larvae. This spring we decided to avoid bedding plants and instead seed our planters at the front of Lewes House on the High Street with a mix of garden and wild flowers.  This drew a lot of attention from passers-by, commenting on how attractive the displays were and delighting our members, giving them pride and confidence in their  work.

Please do contact us if you have surplus tools, plants, seedlings, bulbs, or seeds. All gratefully received!

Thanks

We are very grateful for support over the years from Sussex Community Foundation, Enjoolata Foundation, Chalk Cliff Trust and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Lottery players, donations from St. Andrew’s GP Surgery, Sussex Crisis Fund, Lewes Town Council, the Big Lottery Local Connections Fund, and Lewes District Council. Thanks too for donations of plants and tools from individuals and from Fi’s Yard, Waitrose and Notcutts Garden Centre. Thanks too for the special discounts and advice from Rotherview Nurseries, Goldcliff and Lewes Garden Centres.