Postcard from England: Navigating Sissinghurst and Great Dixter in One Day
By Dylan Crawford
I had the great pleasure of visiting England for the first time this year and while my main stays were in London and the Cotswolds, I was told the gardens of Sissinghurst and Great Dixter were a must visit – so I made a day trip out of it.
Sissinghurst is the quintessential English garden with its 13th century grounds revitalized and reimagined by trail blazers Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicholson starting in 1930.
The Great Dixter garden was the family home of iconic gardener Christopher Lloyd (born 1930) and is now in the care of Fergus Garrett who is taking forth Lloyd’s legacy of gardening experimentation and education, resulting in wild combinations of scale, color and texture.
Both gardens were recently included in The New York Times article, “The 25 Gardens You Must See.”
The two gardens are less than a 30 minute drive away from each other – but if you, like me, are terrified of driving on the wrong left side of the road, and are trying to see both in a day, creativity is required. The London to Sissinghurst stretch of the trip required a train, bus, and walk. I took the southeastern train from central London (Charing Cross Station) around 9 AM (trains operate hourly), and then the 5 bus from Hawkhurst to Sissinghurst. The Sissinghurst Castle Garden is about a 30 minute walk away from the Sissinghurst bus stop and requires walking on a narrow shoulder – in hindsight, scheduling a cab from the train station would have been easier, but less memorable.
A 30 minute walk along a very narrow shoulder!
The walk up the long Sissinghurst Castle Road was a very picturesque way to enter the garden and stoked the suspense of what I was about to see. Sheep grazed in fields between densely planted hedgerows.
I visited during the last week of July and the garden was in full bloom.
The entry sequence feels straight out of a fairy tale.
After walking through the first few garden rooms, my jaw literally dropped when I turned the corner and found myself staring at the cottage garden. Flowers erupted with reds, yellows, and oranges, surrounding four giant rounded yews. The Japanese Forest Grass acted as a dramatic highlighter swipe in the landscape.
The picturesque tower in the background was where Vita did her writing, they have kept her room as she left it when she passed in 1962.
I also enjoyed the white garden and dry gardens, both are examples of the dramatic effect that can be achieved when you plant within specific parameters.
It was amazing to walk the gardens first before climbing the tower and seeing them from another perspective. Graphically they read beautifully from all angles, and make it impossible to forget you are witnessing a living, breathing, evolving piece of art.
After walking the grounds of Sissinghurst for around 2 hours, and having a simple lunch in the café, I caught my first taxi of the day to Great Dixter. There are multiple taxi companies to choose from, and admittedly I scheduled the day before, however I would recommend doing this a week or two in advance! MTC Taxis was the company I ended up using and it was pretty seamless. Uber and Lyft are unavailable in the area, and be aware that phone service is very limited.
When I arrived at Great Dixter it had started to rain. The combination of the weather and visiting during the week meant I had the garden almost to myself.
The sunken garden called to me first, its borders exploding with growth made for a dramatic effect against the central pond. Layers and layers of plants, assisted by subtle terracing and stone walls made for a romantic backdrop.
The planting felt so fearless and playful. Paths were crowded with foliage reaching out from the border, calling you deeper into the garden.
The legendary topiary peacocks sit conferencing amongst the hollyhocks, echinops, alliums and lilies. The garden feels like a bold celebration of the infinite planting combinations of colors and textures.
The borders dwarf their viewers and redefine what it means to plant boldly.
I left Great Dixter wet from the rain but full of inspiration and accomplishment. I caught a pre-scheduled MTC taxi from Great Dixter back to the Staplehurst station and then the train back to London where I made it back in time for dinner. That night I fell asleep dreaming of painting with plants, already excited to go back.