Hi, and welcome to another look at Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent
And this time we're focusing on those gardens
We're in the southeast corner of the UK, in the Weald of Kent
And if you have the time, then why not check out Scotney Castle which is around 10 miles away. I'll add a link to that video at the end.
The Sissinghurst Castle Estate is around 450 acres and includes a working farm,
But in this video we are going to take a closer look around the gardens created by Vita Sackville-West in the 1930's
Sissinghurst Castle Garden is maintained by the National Trust, and I will put a link in the description below for opening times and prices.
For National Trust members it's free, as is the nearby Scotney Castle.
If you are expecting to find a castle here, you won't, sorry to disappoint
what you have is the remains of an Elizabethan Manor house, so that's mid 16th to early 17th-century , and the end of the Tudor era,
It was used as a prison during the Seven Years War, that's 1756-1763, to house captured French sailors
They called their jail 'Château de Sissingherst', which when translated back roughly equated to Sissinghurst Castle
So disgusted with their accommodation, the French decided to burn it down, and what you have left is all that remains
but what we have come to see is the gardens laid out by Vita Sackville-West after buying Sissinghurst Castle in 1930 with her husband Harold Nicolson
And as they say, the rest is history.
What the National Trust have done is take that vision, maintain it, and in places bring it to life.
So I now I think it's time to take a look.
Heading through the arch towards the courtyard garden, let's take a look at the head gardener's thoughts
As you can see from Troy's words, this was shot in late May
This video is going to be a little different.
I'm going to stop talking for a while and leave you with just the background sounds and hopefully some relaxing music.
What's that at the back?, Oh come on, you're better than that.
I'll introduce each area, provide a little background, but after that - zippp
This is the upper courtyard, and the lawn area is roped off. When we were here last August, you were free to roam,
so I guess it's a maintenance thing
We are now entering the Rose Garden, full of stunning colours, and a lot more planting that just roses - let's take a look
Now we find ourselves in the lower courtyard, and the sunken pond in the corner
You can also walk between the courtyards by strolling under the tower,
You can also climb the tower for wonderful views over the gardens and the wider landscape beyond.
If you want to check out those views, watch our first video at the end of this.
We're now at the South Cottage.
Here you will find the South Cottage Garden, where the palette has changed, and we're awash with oranges, reds and yellows.
At the end of the South Cottage Garden, you'll grab a glimpse of Moat Walk, let's take a closer look.
The flowering white wisteria looks stunning; we'll get another look when we reach the moat.
We now arrive at Lime Walk, we'll have a quick look but we are heading back in the wrong direction.
Returning to our original trail, we find a pathway through the Nuttery, with its Kentish Cob Trees, underplanted with lush, vivid green, ferns
Our next discovery is the Herb Garden. I have a small herb garden, but this is something else.
A chamomile bench - how cool
No time to take a seat though because we have reached the other end of the Moat Walk,
Here you get a better view of the beautiful Azaleas in bloom.
and we reach the moat
In our previous video on Sissinghurst Castle, we walked around the moat to the lakes beyond.
This time we keep within and stroll around the Orchard, where the meadows are being allowed to develop.
In the corner of the moat you'll discover the gazebo, built in 1969, in memory of Harold Nicholson
We're returning back towards the tower, past the boat house, and into the White Garden
Once again a palette and style change - you've guessed the colour theme
and now I think we've reached the purple border. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong; leave me a comment below.
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We now reach the Delos Garden, a new garden opened in 2021
a reimagining of an idea Vita and Harold had, inspired by their visit to the Greek island of Delos.
Did you know there is a wonderful Bed and Breakfast accommodation at Sissinghurst Castle Garden?
I'll pop a link up, as well as one in the description, so you can find out more.
We've returned to the upper courtyard to have a closer look at the planting here
Now this looks a touch purple - is this the purple border?
Now, we've stepped out of the main gardens,
and if you are hungry then why not pick up a bite at the Granary restaurant, right next to the Elizabethan barn and gift shop.
Some of the food sourced for the Granary restaurant comes from Sissinghurst's own vegetable garden
We'll have a quick look in a minute
You'll find the vegetable garden and picnic area behind the plant shop on the way back to the car park.
And yes we did, we supplemented our herb garden, and they doing very well, thank you.
And this is the Vegetable patch, depending on the time of year, you'll find different things making an appearance
So that brings this video to a close; thanks so much for watching; I hope you enjoyed it.
Remember, stay safe, stay well and happy travels.