SISSINGHURST, Book review and giveaway

Are you dreaming about curling up on a chilly winter's day with a great gardening book? Then here is your chance. I am giving away a copy of this new book about the iconic British garden, Sissinghurst. Details at the end of this post.

When Vita Sackville-West first visited Sissinghurst it was love at first sight. She wasn't deterred by the crumbling buildings and walls, all that remained of a former Elizabethan Hunting palace. She turned to her then 12 year old son and said, 'I think we shall be happy in this place' and so she was. From May 1930 until 1962 she and her husband, Harold Nicolson, designed and planted the gardens at Sissinghurst castle.

The garden has an incredible history, and who better to tell the story than Sarah Raven who is married to the Nicolson's grandson. With access to all the writings, personal photographs of the Nicholsons and having lived at Sissingurst, Sarah is eminently equipped to tell the story of this garden. She shares the story with Vita herself whose writings are also included in the book.
I was surprised when the book arrived to find it a rather chunky 6"x 9" So much easier to handle than the usual books about gardens. Divided into 3 major parts and amply illustrated with family photos of  the garden through time, it is easy to see that Vita fulfilled her dream. A dream which is now in the care of the National Trust.
 Sarah Raven called upon the many writings of Vita, who wrote gardening columns in the Observer newspaper and Country Life magazine, her own garden journals and letters to Harold about the garden. The book is divided into 3 major sections.

Part 1 is about The People and the Place.
Part 2 Vita's Garden Themes. Descriptions of the roses and other plantings in the garden are to be found here as well as planting on walls, pruning, shrubs and seasonal advice.
Part 3 The Smaller Canvas. The seasons of painterly plants, cutting gardens and containers for indoors and out.
She has advice that I might well take myself. 'I advise every gardener to go around his garden now-and make notes of what he thinks he ought to remove and of what he wants to plant later on.'
How I loved to read about her style of gardening, not unlike my own. ' She also liked the abundance self sowing gave you, the miraculous appearance suddenly of of many hundreds of Californian poppies in the cracks of the Lime Walk paths which she banned the gardeners from weeding out' 'It was to be hospitable to wildlings'

My photo of the gardens from the tower, 2004

I requested the book to review partly because I have visited Sissinghurst on two occasions at which time I knew only a little of the history or of the making of the garden. I now feel equipped for a return visit. Whether on not you have the chance to visit this garden you will enjoy reading the story of how it came to be as well as the practical gardening information included in the book.

Vita Sackville-West was born in 1892 at Knole in Kent. She was an award winning poet, garden writer and published 12 novels. She died at Sissinghurst in 1962
Sarah Raven has written many books on gardening, cooking, flower arranging as well as gardening programs on TV. She runs her own cookery school at her nearby farm.

The book is published in the USA by St Martin's Press, New York.

If you would like the chance to win this book then please leave a comment on this posting. I will choose the winner by random number  and announce the winner on the evening of December 14th. Please leave information on where you can be reached in the comment. Offer open to US residents only.
UPDATE.  THE WINNER OF THE RANDOM BOOK DRAWING IS TEXAS DEB. CONGRATULATIONS.

THE GREAT BRITISH GARDEN TRIP, DAY 4

Sunday morning, following a 'bang up' English breakfast, we drove just a few miles down the road to Batemans, the former home of Rudyard Kipling, given to the National Trust in 1939 following the death of his American wife, Carrie. I have always loved Kipling's verse from the time I learnt 'The Glory of the Garden", at the age of eight and which I can still recite word for word today. George Orwell wrote about " the powerful seduction of his colorful and most rhythmic verse"

BATEMANS

Before we venture into the gardens let me first take you into the Jacobean house, which Kipling purchased in 1902.

Yes, the house really was built that long ago.

The front door leads into a large entrance hall with well used fireplace.

Kipling's study is just as he left it on his death in 1936. It is filled with memories of his colorful life in India and the things that inspired him to write so many books.

A portrait of Carrie hangs over the fireplace.

The Kiplings entertained many guests and this bedroom would have been used by guests during the visit. They would have to take notice of these rules pinned on the bedroom door! And woe betide if they overstayed their welcome. Kipling would then take them out into the garden to show them the sundial, which bore the words, 'It's later than you think'

When in 1907, he received the Nobel prize for literature he spent the 7,700 pound prize money on building the rose garden and pond.

On the right you can see the pleached lime allee which was in place when the Kiplings bought the house.

The pear arch is over 80 years old. I read somewhere that the pears were no longer producing so I think they must have replanted. They would, of course, have to be the same variety as planted originally.

View looking towards the old oast houses.

Oast house with one cowl converted into a dovecote. Many oast houses in the Sussex and Ket countryside have been converted into homes.
Twice a year the National Trust visit the property to make sure that all the plantings are contemporary to the time the Kiplings lived there. I'm sure this is a little frustrating for the head gardener.

SCOTNEY CASTLE

There are really two houses at Scotney; the one at the top of the hill built in 1837 and the medieval moated, ruined castle. We toured the upper house first but were really more interested to see the old castle and the gardens which surround it.

A path leads down the hill through enormous banks of rhododendrons.

We had missed the height of the bloom but there were still some later flowering varieties to enjoy. England had an unusually warm spell in April which brought on flowering rather early.

When the gardens were being designed the old castle was selectively ruined to produce a more romantic scene.


A sky had looked threatening for some time and a sudden downpour made everyone run for cover.

A perfect time to use the camera.

Peonies

Here I am looking to capture that perfect shot before we head off to Sissinghurst.

SISSINGHURST

You might expect that one of the most popular gardens in the country would be busy on a Sunday. After all Sunday lunch is a big event in Britain with restaurants all over the country offering great prices on their carvery. Then, what better thing to do than to take the family along to one of the Trust properties. There are hundreds of them, from stately homes to castles, abbeys, churches, coastlines and of course gardens. Sissinghurst is a favorite. We arrived around 3:30pm when many people were leaving and a sudden rain shower had people running for cover indoors.

It is really magic to walk past the row of oast houses and in through the arch way.

This part of the main house and the tower are all that remain of a manor house that was built in 1480. For the time it was unusual for houses to be built of brick. The estate had many lives and owners until it fell into serious decay. It wasn't until 1930 that Vita Sackville-West and her husband Sir Harold Nicholson, bought the estate to fulfill Vita's desire to build a garden. The couple had different ideas about design, Harold preferring the more classical , structured look and Vita the flamboyant and romantic planting. Harold designed the layout of the garden which Vita then planted.

Here is a plan of the property. After the deaths of Vita and Harold the Nicholson sons decided that the property would best be cared for by the National Trust. Ownership was transferred in 1967.

The best overview of the property is from the top of the tower.

Vita's white garden.

The herb garden.










I left with the impression that this property must have a big endowment. Everything was immaculate.

We had dinner plans with an old college friend in the evening so we did rather rush around the garden. We had to drive down to Eastbourne for dinner.