Nymans, six kilometres south of Crawley at Handcross, is one of the National Trust's most celebrated gardens in south-east England. Created by the Messel family from the 1890s onwards, the garden is known for its plant collection, its romantic ruins (a neo-Gothic house partly destroyed by fire in 1947), and the quality of its seasonal plantings — rhododendrons and magnolias in spring, roses in summer, good autumn colour through October.
The walled garden at the centre is the most structured part, with topiary, formal beds, and the roofless house ruins beyond. The surrounding informal gardens and woodland take in a wide plant collection assembled over three generations. The Messel family had an eye for rare species, and the garden contains plants collected from expeditions to Asia and South America that are rarely seen in British gardens.
National Trust membership or entry charge applies. The garden is open year-round, with the house and indoor rooms accessible in summer. Handcross village is on the A23 Brighton road; the turn-off is clearly signed. Crawley bus services stop at Handcross on some routes, but a car or taxi is more practical.