I have just finished a fantastic 10 week online course run by Oxford University on the history of landscape gardening. For my final piece of work I chose to write about the Edwardian garden designer, Harold Peto. I wanted to focus on someone who had left their legacy locally. Towards the end of the 1910s Peto was employed by the then owners of West Dean House – Willie and Evelyn James to extend the gardens. The sunken garden and the 300ft pergola are really good reminders of his style. He was particularly interested in Classical architecture, but did not want his designs just to be a reflection of the past.

Perhaps this is the motto by which he lived: Aspice, Respice, Prospice! Look to the Present, Past and Future! These words can be seen on the steps of the rebuilt sunken garden.