Just rulers and bits of paper

Sissinghurst

A short holiday visiting gardens in Kent  in 2015 and Sissinghurst was a must-see. I was last there in the 1980s while staying in Dorset and was inspired to create my own white garden on my return- not very successfully  I might add.The return visit didn't disappoint.

It was interesting to see the exhibition detailing the development of the garden and in particular the relationship between Vita and Harold, poignantly told in this quote from Harold
       

Nor did Great Dixter, which I saw in the height of summer some years ago, disappoint. Christopher Lloyd is still very much a presence and one of my favourite gardening books of all time features correspondence between him and the doyenne of dry gardening, Beth Chatto.

Autumn border at Great Dixter

It was interesting to see the autumn colour on this occasion. The subtle placing of plants to show each to advantage, none taking centre stage but each playing its part in the overall scheme of things. The borders remain an inspiration.


Christopher Lloyd had an artist's eye, witness  his use of colour, form and texture. The border shown here is full of faded and subdued shades, all placed with a painterly eye  and utilising an autumnal palette.





This border is in direct contrast with the glories of the rudbekia in another part of the garden.

 As Van Gogh wrote ' How lovely yellow is. It stands for the sun.'

Rudbekia at Great Dixter

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Painting with flowers

Playing with colour and form in the garden is the nearest that most of us will get to painting.

                                                                     Mary Keen 1991

Prairie planting at the Floriade

Hanging basket with gloriously harmonious colours

Garden designer, writer and painter, Gertrude Jekyll was a phenomenon. A dumpy little woman, she towered over other garden writers of the twentieth century. Though her eyesight was poor, she was able to distinguish between different shades of colour in borders and knew exactly which plants would give the exact result she wanted in the 150 or so gardens she designed during her lifetime.

 

Using specialist garden books – especially those of the Royal Horticultural Society – it is relatively easy today to find a plant of the exact shade and habit that would suit the prevailing conditions, but inspirational gardeners, like true artists,  understand the conventions yet instinctively break the rules to achieve a particular effect. 

Grasses in Pablo's garden appear almost ghostly in the evening light

Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter fame was such an artist/gardener. His planting schemes, with their outrageous use of controversial colours, revolutionised planting schemes in the 80s and 90s and his ideas continue to influence many of today’s garden designers and plantsmen and women. 

Do visit Great Dixter if you get the opportunity.

I guarantee you will be both delighted and inspired.