The garden at Sissinghurst Castle in the Weald of Kent is among the most famous gardens in England. Sissinghurst Castle Garden is a pleasing contrast of formal structure and informal plantings that provide year-round interest. The garden was developed as a sequence of intricate garden rooms, each accommodating some aspect of the lifestyle of its unconventional makers, novelist Vita Sackville West and her husband Sir Harold Nicolson. The Top Courtyard, for example, functioned as the garden’s entry hall, the Cottage Garden, a living room, and the White Garden, a place for outdoor dining. Sissinghurst first opened to the public in 1938 while the Nicolsons were living there. The National Trust acquired the property in 1967. The garden has been revised over the years to accommodate a growing number of visitors, but still preserves the original spirit the Nicholsons established.
Stops on This Tour: 1) Introduction, 2) Forecourt, 3) Top (Front) Courtyard, 4) Purple Border, 5) Tower, 6) Tower Lawn (Lower Courtyard), 7) Rose Garden, 8) Lime Walk, 9) Cottage Garden, 10) Moat Walk, 11) Herb Garden, 12) Nuttery, 13) Orchard, 14) White Garden, 15) Delos Garden.