“I like muddling things up; and if a herb looks nice in a border, then why not grow it there? Why not grow anything anywhere so long as it looks right where it is? That is, surely, the art of gardening.”
– Vita Sackville West
Sissinghurst is one of those places which regularly features on social media in dreamy romantic images. It has also been on my list of places to visit for a long time. Although I had hoped to go in summer, as it happens spring is actually a rather lovely time to visit.
The Background
There have been buildings on the Sissinghurst site since Saxon times. During the later years of the 1700’s, it was used as a poor house for the able bodied, and the buildings housed inmates who worked the farmland turning it into a profitable local parish.
Despite it’s modern day associations with the flower gardener and writer Sarah Raven, many will know of Sissinghurst because of its former owners, the author, poet and gardener Vita Sackville West. Sissinghurst was bought by Vita Sackville West and her husband the diplomat and writer Harold Nicholson in 1930.
They bought it at a time when it was a run down Elizabethan mansion. Most of the buildings were homes to farm workers, and the gardens were used for growing vegetables. It wasn’t until the late 1830’s that Vita had developed the gardens enough to open them to visitors
During much of the Second World War , Vita barely left Sissinghurst, spending much of her time ensconced in its famous tower writing novels and gardening books, and of course creating and developing the famous gardens.
“Every garden-maker should be an artist along his own lines. That is the only possible way to create a garden, irrespective of size or wealth.” – Vita Sackville West
After Vita’s death in 1962, Harold decided that her beloved Sissinghurst should be given over to the National Trust. The Trust National Trust have been taking care of the property since 1967.
Arriving at Sissinghurst on a mild(ish) day in April, our first view was of the towering turrets of the rustic fairy tale castle illuminated by the spring sunshine. Gentle shadows spread across the lawns, birdsong played in the background and if Rapunzle had appeared at a window and let down her golden hair we would not have been surprised
The Blooms
From 1946 to 1957, Vita wrote a weekly column on gardening in The Observer. Vita’s creativity and flare for garden design and her knowledge of gardening is so clear in the immediate beauty of these gardens. Around every corner and behind each weathered red brick wall is something delightful to see
Every part of the gardens are filled with flowers, and in spring, swathes of blossom. Trees filled with tufty white blossom frame the castle, and lush grass carpeted with papery white narcissi and daffodils lend an extra air of romance to the scene.
Tulips were for me the undoubted star of the show. Oversized urns and pots stuffed with tulips the colours of jewels, standing tall and to attention. Whilst, extravagant, blousy parrot tulips bring a louche and blousy vibe
Nooks and crannies are filled with aged terracotta pots crammed with the sweet points of indigo muscari and miniature daffodils in creamy yellows. For the photographer, opportunities abound in every direction.
Sissinghurst is famed for it’s ‘White Garden’, where only the colours of white, green, grey and silver are to be allowed to grow. This is a palette I love in the garden and can only imagine how calming and gentle it must be to wander through when it is in full bloom. The White Garden is said to hit its peak in July. We enjoyed the urns packed full of elegantwhite tulips in spring.
“All the same, I cannot help hoping that the great ghostly barn-owl will sweep silently across a pale garden, next summer in the twilight- the pale garden that I am now planting, under the first flakes of snow.” – Vita Sackville West
The Lime Walk also known as the Spring Garden, is the area in which Harold took hold of the design and planting. The avenue of spring flowers includes tulips of every variety, whilst fragrant hyacinths line the beds. Vast terracotta pots sit within the flower beds also packed with generous spring blooms. This is the kind of garden in which you could take so much achievable inspiration home with you.
A Place to Walk
Beyond the gardens are the ponds and country lanes which all form part of the estate. There are lovely peaceful places to meander beyond the main gardens. An orchard and a vegetable garden provide ingredients for the National Trust Cafe. In spring new crops were beginning to poke their hopeful heads through the soil and rhubarb was in abundance. A calming woodland walk which I am told is packed with bluebells in early May is said to be a sight to behold.
This Summer there is also a specially planned out mindfulness trail which can be taken around the estate. After the anxiety and fear so many have experienced during the pandemic, this is designed as a walk where the focus is on wellbeing and mental health.
I fell in love with Sissinghurst and really want to visit again in the summer when the castle is also open and I can enjoy all the dreamy summer flowers and scents.
Like all National Trust places at the moment, plans need to be made, and tickets booked in advance.
