Sissinghurst Castle, Kent

What a glorious autumn we are having! Well into October and the sun is still shining which made the last of the autumn flowering plants even more vibrant in the golden light.

I've ventured out of Sussex this month and taken a road trip to Kent... Sissinghurst is a world famous garden and I had never been before although it had been on my list of places to see for quite some time. It was designed and gardened by Vita Sackville-West, a well renowned poet and writer in the first half of the 20^th century. She purchased the stunningly beautiful remnants of the castle in the 1930’s although the impressive towers you see date from the mid 16^th century.

This garden was forward thinking at the time as it moved away from the earlier formality of Victorian planting and the generally ‘open’ style of stately homes and large properties and instead created a series of more intimate ‘garden rooms,’ a phrase that remains fashionable to this day. It uses large dark hedges to create vistas and segment the space into different themes.

There was some lovely colour on display in the form of late flowering perennials and the autumnal leaves of some of the trees. I particularly noticed that the Asters and Dahlias were still shining like large gem stones in the muted russet colourings of the early flowering plants that were now dying back for their winter hibernation.

An interesting quirk of this garden are the playful features and interesting use of materials that create little talking points as you move around the different rooms. A bench made from clipped box is not just decorative but could actually be sat on too. An area in the herb garden had been paved using what I presume were old terracotta roofing tiles reused on their side as flooring; I have seen this done before but I suspect this was one of the first places to use them in this fashion. These nuances give the garden a more domestic and romantic feel compared to larger gardens and you can see the eye of a poet at work.

An apple-laden orchard was so full of fruit it made me rather hungry but luckily being a National Trust property one always knows there is a decent restaurant at the end. Through the tress some water could be spotted; a moat surrounds part of the garden and provides a transition between the structured area and the wilder parkland beyond. The water is left over from a time when the castle had a moat all the way around but it now makes an interesting water feature.

For those of you that like to walk a little further and get some more exercise there are also some lovely walks around the estate past some lakes, which offer interesting views back to the castle. This is also good if like me you have a dog who needs a walk as they are not allowed in the formal gardens. Luckily they are allowed outside the café for a warming afternoon tea!

Verdict

Worst bits

This is a very well maintained and thought out garden that I bet looks even better in full summer when full of flowers. The moat however was looking rather green and unappealing and some of the areas such as the Orchard were cordoned off.

Best Bits

This is a fairy tale garden complete with turrets, flags and the plants and layout of a poet, what more could you want?

Sussex Prairies Garden, near Brighton and Hove, East Sussex

Just as I thought the weather had changed for the worse we were blessed with a beautifully sunny day; I saw my opportunity and took my faithful companion (Charlie the dog) to a gem of a garden just 15 minutes outside of Brighton.

I had seen an advert for this garden in a local magazine but was not prepared for the amazing sight that confronted me after winding down the entrance path: A Sussex field had been transformed into a sea of colour with undulating mounds of vivid yellows and reds offset against plumes of grasses and pastel flowers. I have rarely seen such a good example of prairie planting and late summer or autumn is the perfect time to see this garden at its best.

The clever thing about this garden is that it is not just soft, naturalistic planting but it is cleverly contrasted with some strong layout in the form of hedging and a central axis through the middle of the space. The hedges offer a backbone to the garden but rather than unrepentantly cutting through the space they are cut into undulating shapes, mirroring the planting on either side.

Colour is used to great effect in the planting schemes here. Blocks of primary colours produce dramatic effects whilst some tonal borders are an array of delightful blues and purples.

The other feature in this garden that must be mentioned is the sculpture, which emerges from the drifts of plants. I often see sculpture in public gardens and it seems to have no relation with its surroundings but here it works completely. Seas of flowers and grasses look fabulous but they need that something extra to lift them and add interest and this is exactly what the sculpture does, it helps to focus the eye in a landscape of curves and mounds.

Verdict

Wow…I was completely stunned by this garden; it is a plantsman’s dream and full of inspiration for planting combinations. It doesn’t have the large rambling grounds of other public gardens but it makes up for it in quality.

Worst bits

If you are looking for formal planting or a whole day out this is not for you. It only has one style of planting.

Best bits

On a sunny day in late summer or autumn I can’t think of any other place where the planting would be more stunning and colourful.

Osborne House, Isle of Wight

For this month’s blog I have nipped outside of Sussex and even taken a ferry ride to the Isle of Wight. Just along the coast from us is a Victorian gem strewn with the pomp and formality of the era. The Architect involved in the design was Thomas Cubit but it was heavily influenced by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert themselves, that is why it is one of the best examples of a ‘Victorian’ garden.

A few years ago now, I wrote about Victorian garden design in my dissertation at university and even used parts of Osborne House as examples. Walking around the gardens close to the house the most striking aspect is the formality of the layout, which is so typical of the period. We often associate it with public parks; circles or squares of brightly coloured bedding plants like flamboyant ships in a sea of green grass. However, it is not often seen nowadays due to the high cost of replacing the plants each year. I think the displays are fabulous and full of colour but I can’t imagine ever putting one into a design today.

Statues are everywhere in this garden, especially in the formal areas around the house. No opportunity has been missed to have a replica of a Greek god or Italian carving. It lends a slightly camp and ostentatious look to space, but then what else would you expect in a Royal palace?

Once you move away from the main area you start to find some more surprising elements on the estate………

An entire area bigger than most people’s gardens is devoted to the royal children, the little Princes and Princesses of the day. A life-size Swiss cottage, mini-military barracks complete with cannon and a working vegetable patch are all part of the children’s area. A good way to educate children through play; something you might think of as a modern concept. I don’t think it would be easily adjustable to our modern gardens or living but it does show that a children’s area in the garden doesn’t have to be full of bright coloured plastic, it can look good too.

The walled garden looks beautiful and is one of the softest and most floriferous spaces in the garden but it’s function was not for beauty but for work. The kitchen garden situated inside the old walls would have had the practical use of supplying fresh fruit and veg to the kitchens. The reason it also looks so lovely is that the house demanded a supply of cut flowers to adorn the many vases in the main house.

The final treat as I walked around the side of the walled garden was an elegant herbaceous border. So different from the strong colours and formal layout of the rest of the gardens; it was filled with pastel colours and billows of summer flowering plants.

Verdict

I have to love the Victorians for not doing things by half. The garden is a feast for the eyes filled with fountains, statues and flowers.

Worst bits – Actually quite difficult to find any area that I didn’t find interesting but I suppose a fake Swiss Cottage may be taking it a little too far!

Best bits – The formal areas by the house and the borders of bedding plants have a real ‘wow’ factor.