Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, 22.05.2010

Here are few snapshots of my back garden which I whizzed off earlier :rotfl::rotfl:

Ok, ok, it's Sissinghurst, which is now so perfect it makes the average gardener want to give up and concrete over everything immediately. The miniature box hedges in the White Garden can only be the work of elves with some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

 

Nice wisteria

 

Thanks Claralou. We only live a few miles from Sissinghurst and will be visiting next weekend with some Americans who are staying with us. One is a fellow garden designer who has recently designed a garden at her fourth San Francisco garden show called "Twice upon a Treehouse" She's over here to recce the Chelsea Flower Show with a view to entering a show garden next year. We're going to take her and her companions on a tour of the local sites: Dixter, for a meeting with Fergus, Rye, Romney Marsh and Dungeness to see Derek Jarman's garden.

We've been emailing since we met at my garden at last year's show and get on so well that we may be working together in the future! Thanks for the pictures, it's whetted my appetite for what we are going to see next week.

Chris

 

Hi there Chris

Enjoy Sissinghurst next weekend. It was crowded today - I had a job getting shots which weren't full of people - so be prepared for a full garden, especially if the weather is good. Still, the crowd is always quite laid back and good tempered.

I love Dixter. Do you know Great Comp garden? http://www.greatcompgarden.co.uk/ It's not as perfectly manicured as Sissinghurst and you may even - shock! horror! - find the odd weed. Lots of rhododendrons and azaleas - not always my favourite plants, but they look really good at Great Comp. Roderick Cameron, who created the garden, died recently but the grounds are still open to the public. Cameron was a bit of a character. I once took some friends to Great Comp and we were just admiring a herbaceous border when our eyes drifted towards a makeshift drying rack set close to the house. Hanging on it were several pairs of voluminous, well-worn drawers, luxuriating in the sunshine ... now that's something you won't find in the White Garden at Sissinghurst.

 

Loverly visit ClaraLou.. thankyou

 

Beautiful pics, I love Sissinghurst, they had some lovely almost black Geraniums there last year. Another favorite of mine near there is Scotney, beautiful old ruins down by the lake and fantastic views from the 'new' house.

 

Thanks again Claralou! I didn't know about Great Comp but I will put it on my "must see" list. The website is very comprehensive and the pictures really show you what to expect.

Cheers:thumb: Chris

 

Glad you liked the snaps, everyone. I was entrusted with my OH's camera for the day. He is still inspecting it for battle scars. (Shhh - don't tell him I nearly lost the lens cap in a large patch of cranesbills.)

I'll be interested to hear what you make of Great Comp, Chris. Mr Cameron always used to sit in the ticket booth at the entrance to the garden, taking the money ... but I would never have dared to engage him in conversation. He struck me as the kind of person who knew what he liked and didn't really care what anyone else thought. If he wanted to plonk some fake stone ruins in the middle of the garden, then he'd do it! I gather he was involved with the RHS for a while, but it ended in acrimony. Nice little nursery where you can pick up some unusual plants. And the tearoom serves generous slices of cake.

 

What gorgeous gardens and place!

 

I visited Sissinghurst in mid June and their rose garden was very beautiful, with many old rose varieties with amazing scent.