One of the greatest collaborations in the making of a garden is that of Vita Sackville West and her husband Harold Nicholson.
Here’s a peek at Sissinghurst, one of the most famous and loved gardens in the world.
For the history of Sissinghurst, visit The National Trust website.
More about Vita and a love letter she wrote to Virginia Wolf in the book The 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time at Brain Pickings.….one of my favorite blogs.
Waterwise Botanicals nursery in Escondido, CA has newly planted display gardens, and one includes silver-white plants.
Looking at the assortment made me wonder what legendary British designer Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962) would have thought. (She created a famous white garden at Sissinghurst that people come from all over the world to see.) Sackville-West doubtless would have wanted any plants shown here that were not available at the time. We take a lot for granted when it comes to our gardens, not the least of which are new cultivars and plants bred for performance.
Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ is a mounding, woody perennial with fine, feathery leaves. It’s hardy in all but the coldest zones and eventually grows to 3 feet tall and 6 feet wide. To keep it compact, remove flowers when the plant comes into bloom in late summer. Continue Reading →
OK…so I’m a sentimentalist. I still find it hard to accept that gardens are often dismantled or allowed to rapidly dissipate when their owners die. Think about sculptures, paintings, choreography, musical compositions and on and on: gardening is the only art form that is not promised a legacy for future generations.
And yes, there are much needed organizations like the National Trust in Great Britain and The American Garden Conservancy. But by in large, garden makers are on their own in trying to secure posterity for their work of art.
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