One Garden Brighton announced as RHS Partner Garden

One Garden Brighton, East Sussex, is thrilled to be recognised as a centre for horticultural excellence, following the news that they are one of 18 new gardens to join the Royal Horticultural Society as a Partner Garden for 2026. 

Restored and managed by Plumpton College One Garden Brighton is a free to enter public garden and horticultural centre of excellence, used as a site for education and outreach. As one of the leading RHS accredited training providers, One Garden Brighton trains over 150 RHS students every year and offers adult horticulture and floristry qualifications, courses and one day workshops for those looking to learn something new, upskill or progress their career in a beautiful setting. 

Prunella Murray, Partner Gardens Manager at the RHS says:

We are delighted to welcome Plumpton College alongside 17 new gardens (13 in the UK/5 Overseas) to create a 241-strong RHS Partner Garden family for 2026. There is something for all types of garden lovers to explore and enjoy. RHS Members are very lucky to be able to visit these wonderful gardens, at selected times, as part of their Membership, and we would like to extend our thanks to all our RHS Partner Gardens for supporting the charitable work of the RHS through this initiative.

Located inside a 2.5 acre walled garden within Brighton’s Stanmer Park estate, visitors enjoy carefully designed and curated gardens that were restored and continue to be cultivated and maintained by the expert gardens team at One Garden Brighton and students. Originally designed by modern-day landscape architect Dominic Cole, renowned for his work on the Eden Project which also gained RHS Partner Garden status this year.  The gardens celebrate both heritage and innovation including productive traditional fruit and vegetable crops as well as a series of contemporary show gardens designed for typical, often difficult urban conditions and smaller spaces to inspire visitors.

In addition, the baked goods in One Kitchen cafe are made on-site by staff and apprentices studying at Plumpton College School of Bakery; which provides real-world immersive education on the award-winning apprenticeship programmes. 

The excellence seen across One Garden Brighton’s offering of gardens, cafe,- visitor experience outreach and apprenticeship exceeded the required Royal Horticultural Society criteria and was pivotal in One Garden Brighton becoming a RHS Partner Garden, as Principal of Plumpton College, Jeremy Kerswell explains:

At One Garden Brighton, our industry standard training facilities sit alongside our cafe (One Kitchen) and shop (One Market) where we showcase the best local produce. The campus buildings are nestled within the walls and you will see students designing, planting and maintaining the grounds as a demonstration of innovation. We offer part time courses for adults wishing to enter, retrain or upskill in the horticulture sector and short workshops for the local community.

On the announcement, he continues;

Becoming a RHS Partner Garden in our Centenary year is terrific news for Plumpton College and One Garden Brighton and is the validation of our commitment to excellence, hard work and immense skill that staff and students put into all that One Garden Brighton is. We are very proud of what has and continues to be achieved here and the award-winning apprenticeships that take place within the estate. It really is a special place for everyone to enjoy. Horticulture is facing a significant skills gap, needing more new entrants than ever before.  It is a career that has a vital role to play in food security, sustainability, and the health of our environment.

Experience the newest RHS Partner Garden for yourself.  One Garden Brighton is free to enter and RHS members can enjoy a free hot drink when showing their card at the till. Learn more about One Garden Brighton and their upcoming events at https://www.onegardenbrighton.com/explore/one-garden/

Find out more about the new and existing RHS Partner Gardens at: rhs.org.uk/partner

Category: College News