The Kew team behind Wakehurst, near Haywards Heath, West Sussex has opened its parkland to artists to ‘make the invisible visible’

The old 20th-century ideas of a beauty spot closing its gates at 5pm - or interpretations of its main sights being limited to what can be listed on a dusty wooden board - seemed very dated when we walked through the Wakehurst entrance on a balmy evening.

The press launch celebrating both the West Sussex wild botanic garden’s new Rooted exhibition and its Summer Nights programme would have been unthinkable in the old days of Keep Off the Grass signs and carefully marked out garden routes.

Instead, the Kew team behind Wakehurst has opened the extensive parkland to artists, with the brief to ‘make the invisible visible’. And this summer visitors will see the results as they stumble across installations and artworks inspired by the bucolic landscape, placed in unexpected clearings as well as more formal spaces.

As the path turned away from the currently shrouded Wakehurst Place mansion, we were greeted by the sight of a brightly dressed ribbon dancer, moving to the sounds of a bossa nova band 

The results vary from more traditional sculpture, such as Joseph Hillier’s beautiful trio of wooden heads, Moot, which greet visitors as they enter the main park from the visitor’s centre, to more conceptual works – including the sound sculpture Sonic Woodland IV by Hidden Orchestra, which utilises aeolian harps strung between tree branches to create an ever-changing soundscape.

We were given a two-and-a-half-hour taster of both the new exhibition and the Summer Nights experience, which takes place by another of the installations – the bright neon tapestry The Glowing Canopies by Chila Kumari Burman MBE. As the path turned away from the currently shrouded Wakehurst Place mansion, we were greeted by the sight of a brightly dressed ribbon dancer, moving to the sounds of a bossa nova band (playing The Girl From Ipanema naturally). Guests were already congregating, some sporting face paint designs, supping on delicious organic cocktails.

It was a beautiful and calming introduction to the gardens at a time when very few people normally get a chance to see them. And after a few brief speeches we were all off to explore as much as we could in the next couple of hours.

Even with a hyperactive four-year-old leading the way (energised largely by the fact it was way past his bedtime) there was no chance we would be able to see all eight sculptures scattered across the 500-acre site, so we opted for finding two towards Westwood Lake – Birgit Oigus’ RUUP: Forest Megaphones, and the aforementioned Hidden Orchestra installation.

After taking a wrong turning along the forest paths (I don’t think you can really be lost in such an idyllic landscape) we finally came across the Megaphones. Oigus’ work is a giant interactive installation where you can sit within the wooden confines of one of three giant gramophone bells to hear the sounds of the woods echo around you. It was a very calming and deceptively simple concept – and much welcome after a steep climb to find the clearing.

Wakehurst may be best known for its Christmas Glow Wild trail which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, but Rooted gives visitors an excuse to explore the breathtaking beauty of the site's forests and meadows during its summer height.

Sonic Woodland IV, only a few hundred yards on from the Megaphones past the lakeshore, was a similarly mindful experience – a series of hammocks were spread out in a forest clearing under a series of speakers, allowing you to both hear the long string tones being created by the wind through the trees, and influence them at the same time. It was a truly ethereal experience.

With the knowledge that the Wakehurst gates were closing at 8.30pm it was something of a route march back to the visitor’s centre along the winding asphalt paths, but we did manage to catch a glimpse of another sparkling installation on the way – John Grade’s spiderweb-like Isla suspended among the trees, whose shape is actually inspired by a Columbian plant.

Wakehurst may be best known for its Christmas Glow Wild trail which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, but Rooted gives visitors an excuse to explore the breathtaking beauty of the site's forests and meadows during its summer height. We’ll certainly be back.

Rooted is at Wakehurst until September 17. Entry to gardens £16.50/£8.25 children. kew.org/wakehurst