Unfortunately, the picture above is not from my
garden. It is a picture taken at the garden of Sissinghurst Castle; the garden
of Vita Sackville-West, the English writer. Probably it is the most
photographed garden of the world.
I visited Sissinghurst Castle some years ago. We
arrived at the end of a beautiful summer’s day. Most visitors had already left.
There was a serene atmosphere.
The garden is divided into garden rooms. High hedges
and beautiful old garden walls are separating the sections from each other. The
white garden is the most famous one. As you might have guessed, only white flowers
and grey-leaved plants are planted in this section. At the time I arrive, the
white rose in the middle of the garden is in full bloom. The evening light creates
an unforgettable picture.
I walk through the garden in the evening sun. I am amazed
how beautifully plants are combined together. I try to understand why the
combinations in this garden work so much better than in my own garden.
Hopefully I will be able to use some of the ideas.
In the end, I climb the tower. In a niche, behind an
iron gate, the room in which Vita wrote her books and columns can be seen. On
her desk is a small bouquet of flowers. It looks like if she just left for a moment.
From behind me an attendant climbs the stairs. With an
old set of keys he opens the iron gate to Vita's room. "Is it open?"
I ask surprised. "Sorry," he says, "I would love to, but they probably
will kill me if I did."
Too bad, I would have loved to have a closer look. Daydreaming
of writing my blogs over there......
Then again, better continue writing in my attic room. Because
with a garden like that, I would never find the time to write something for
you!
The white garden.
At the end of the day....
.... most visitors had left.
Contrast, round and upwards growing plants.
I try to learn something of all these combinations.
From the tower .........
........ you can see the different garden rooms.
A more informal part of the garden. Huge roses!
The old buildings are a bonus.
To have a view like that.
Dear Hetty, I so enjoyed your post about Sissinghurst. I have visited this garden three times in my life and it is truly magical. As you said the plant combinations that they do there are fantastic. You have been so lucky to visit at a time when most visitors had left and you got some amazing photos of the White Garden. Now I start dreaming, too...
ReplyDeleteWarm regards,
Christina
Thank you for joining the party at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-walls-of-san-juan.html
ReplyDeleteSo lovely!
ReplyDeletehttp://travelingbugwiththreeboys-kelleyn.blogspot.com/2016/03/4-days-in-anchorage.html
Beautiful pictures from a lovely garden.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend.
Marika