Since I may be visiting this garden in person soon, I didn't want to look too closely and spoil the experience for myself. However, I couldn't resist entirely and did glance at the photos enough to see that it's stunning. Everythign looks so lush and healthy. Any favorites? I didn't realize they sold plants. Did they have a lot for sale? Not that we can buy anything.

I'm sorry I'll be missing the once blooming roses when I'm there, so grateful I can see them in your tour. Thanks so much for sharing!

-Chris

Your pictures are wonderful in capturing an overview of the garden and the individual roses and other plants, but I must confess that Sissinghurst is not one of my favorite gardens. The little subdivisions and just the general layout and choice of plants are not for me, although of course it's very famous. The buildings themselves with the large tower just don't appeal to me. It may be much more appealing in person.

Wow, John! What a bunch of great pictures. Thanks for posting them all for us to see. I enjoyed them very much. So many lovely plants, all I could think about was how much water they must have there! Lisa

Thank you John, so much beauty to drink in with my morning oatmeal, a real treat. I appreciate you taking so many lovely photos, a feast for the eyes.

John, these pictures are stunning. The format is wonderful as I was able to zoom in to read plant labels and to see that even Sissinghurst's roses have blackspot and the gravel paths, an occasional weed :) It's almost as good as being there!

I see that you started out from the village of Rye...those are my old English stomping grounds! I used to live nearby and have such fond memories of The Mermaid (we used to have fireside cream tea there every Sunday) and all the wonderful nooks and crannies to be explored there.

I am kicking myself now because back when I lived in that area, I never visited any gardens (except for Great Dixter)! Oh how I regret not seeing Sissinghurst especially. I plan to go back for a garden tour in the near future...

Thanks so much for sharing!

Ingrid: I think your dislike for Sissinghurst illustrates what makes it an iconic garden. It is a garden...of a place. And it's a very personal garden...so I imagine spending an afternoon there would be like spending an afternoon with Vita and Harold. It's not everyone's cup of tea, and it's not meant to be. The garden is an extremely personal expression...and if it stimulates a reaction, whether it be good or bad, then it has achieved it's aim.

Gardening is very much an art form, don't you think? :)

Rosylady, how very well put. I've read quite a few of Vita's garden writings as well as books about her rather interesting life, and in some ways I find it difficult to relate to her, and that may explain at least in part my feelings about the garden. There's at least one garden writer who didn't care for it at all, even though so many people love it. Definitely gardening is an art form and also very much an expression of the gardener's personality and relationship to nature. That's what makes looking at others' gardens so endlessly fascinating. Taken as a whole I very much admire the English way of gardening so this is a rare exception.

Thank you so much, John! I am thoroughly enjoying your garden tours. You should take me on vacation more often! :-)

I have Tony Lord's books on Sissinghurst and several books and articles by and about Vita. I also have a copy of Orlando, of course. Carol

John, your photographry is perfect of Sissinghurst, I just wish I could take photos that good. My wife(English) and myself will be visiting her family(Buckinghamshire) in June/July 2018 and have placed Sissinghurst on one of our places to visit. We go back every two years and do one large garden estate each visit. Where do your travels take you next John ?

John, thank you for all those wonderful photos.

I was lucky enough to stay there many decades ago, as a friend of mine worked there. I wasn't into gardening then, which I so regret. How I wish I had been. I have read a few books about her and her garden, Jane Brown's 'Vita's Other World' being the most memorable about her gardening, and "Vita' by Victoria Glendinning about her. I also really enjoyed 'Portrait of a Marriage'. There is a recent book too, written by her granddaughter-in-law?, Sarah Raven, which is well worth reading.

Sissinghurst is my inspiration. I love all the different styles of gardening it embraces, and the many beautiful/handsome buildings.

Ingrid, this is the first time I have had a difference of opinion with you!

Are you going to see any Jekyll/Lutyens creations? I hope so. They were detailed in another memorable book, also by Jane Brown, called 'Gardens of a Golden Afternoon'.

Trish

I'm with Trish here. I love this garden, John. I was there 2011 and it was fantastic too. I took some photos in the same spots you chose. The hardscape and OGRs look fantastic to me. I agree with Ingrid on everything usually. One thing here is the English cool climate garden is so much the opposite of Ingrid's wild and glorious western garden. I am going more western and wild myself. I have gardened in cold climates my whole life, though, and loved seeing all these classics of English gardening. I found the Parisan Rosarie d la Hay (you know what I mean) so much less glorious as far as the OGRs went. I was shocked to see the overpruned roses. They looked miserable in 2014, and John noted that now. I think that is what they do there. The climbers were great there. So, in contrast, I found this English garden glorious. Ingrid knows more about Vita and backround which of course would affect one. I was a little surprised I didn't love Great Dixter more in 2011. I loved William Robinson books, and when I was in England, our guide had not heard of him. I love the wild the most and Sissinghurst Castle had a lot of that.

I've seen it from the highway. Does that count?

(The party I traveled there with was too cheap* to pay for flying to Britain during the peak season. And wanted to buy perennial plants to bring back. So we were there at the end of winter, when a garden like this would have much less going on. Also many places were actually closed then, including a country B & B in Cornwall where after we followed their sign out on the main road up a long lane to the place a woman in a robe, peaked out at us and talked from behind the barely opened front door like somebody who never had visitors at any time - merely because we were there during the last of the off season, apparently).

*Funny how often people will spend, say 85% - or more - of the cost of a quality experience or item - and settle thereby for a significantly lesser outcome instead. And be left thinking they've been smart with their money.

That is so too bad Embothrium, that you weren't with people more reasonable.

Ingrid...The way you feel about Sissinghurst is how I felt about another famous English garden that Sheila mentioned: Great Dixter.

I had no idea who Christopher Lloyd was or anything about his garden at all when I visited 20 years ago. I was more interested in the house than the garden. I remember feeling that the garden was a messy, chaotic, color blinding cacophony!

I will say this about Great Dixter: it is hands down, the most memorable garden I've ever visited. What a sense of atmosphere! And you got an such a keen sense of who Christopher Lloyd was by spending time there. I could feel him emanating from the depths of the (dare I say?) lurid borders. :) haha!

It is not the garden I prefer to stroll in every evening while sipping a gin and tonic...but it certainly was a once in a lifetime, evocative experience!

Thanks for the wonderful commentary - it's almost as though I'm traveling with all of you when I read your reactions to the photo album!

It's funny Great Dixter came up in the conversation, because we spent the day there yesterday, and I'm going to share those photos on a separate thread.

We're leaving Rye today (which was a very lovely place to stay and a short taxi ride to Sissinghurst and Great Dixter) and are heading down the coast to Brighton, and then up to Cambridgeshire to visit a friend. Then London and home. We plan to visit a couple more NT sites along the way, so if I run across any more lovely gardens with roses, I'll definitely share photos of them. Google photos makes it so easy to share an album, and I agree that it's nice to be about to zoom in!

I would love to see Gravetye Manor, William Robinson's garden, and Beth Chatto's garden John. Only take you a few more days. I wish Christopher Lloyd was still with us. He sounded like quite the character.

I agree - they're both on my list, but I'm not sure we'll squeeze them in during this trip. There's so much to see and do in the beautiful corner of England!

Wow, what a feast of roses. I looked at these after looking through your Great Dixter photos, and they're worlds apart! Sissinghurst seems sedate and prim after the muscly exuberance (and sense of play) of Christopher Lloyd's garden. Wow, what a trip. Thanks again for taking us along. And I love that photo of the two of you. You have that "look" in your eye, the look of a gardener seeing great plants, great gardens, that sort of ecstatic look. Maybe a little wind-blown too.

Is this how Heronswood started? John, there's a hole in the nursery world waiting for the right volunteer! Carol

Thank you so much for sharing that lovely album with us. I especially loved the photos from above so we could see the layout and structure. And that little stone "throne" with the mossy seat was charming. I really appreciate the virtual tour!

Those are beautiful photos! Can you please tell me what's the name of that pink rose is - photos just below the tower of the castle? I'm assuming Bella Donna...(fingers cross that it is Queen of Denmark)..

This rose... does anyone know the name? I simply Love the way these petals are arranged... Reine des Centfueille? Bella Donna?

Thank you very much for sharing photographs from your visit. I agree with Rosylady that Sissinghurst is a great example of gardening to define a place/space. The yellow yarrow (Coronation Gold), for example, is highlighted and looks like it belongs in the surroundings. I also really appreciate seeing the California native bush anemone, Carpenteria Californica, used in this setting. Roses swaying in the breeze was cool to see as well. The Nuits de Young moss rose, James Mitchell centifolia rose, and Sissinghurst Castle namesake gallica rose, and President du Feze(?) rose were my favorites in this collection.

Justin

Beautiful gardens and a handsome couple.

Thank you! So lovely. Wish my MAC would look like that photo.