Pinch and a punch, it's the end of the month! Goodbye August

The walled garden at Chartwell in bloom in August

I can't believe it's already the end of August - the days are beginning to shorten, the temperature is beginning to drop, and there's definitely a sense of autumn in the air! I haven't visited as many gardens as I'd wished to because family commitments have kept me at home this month, but I did get to Knole, where Vita Sackville-West was born and to Sissinghurst, the legendary garden that she and her husband created in Kent which draws visitors from all over the world.

Alfriston Clergy House - a delightful small garden in East Sussex

But for me the main focus was on smaller gardens this month, and I was lucky enough to visit Sandgate Close and Alfriston Clergy House, just down the road from Brighton, Old Buckhurst in Kent, the wonderful secret walled garden at Preston Manor, and several bigger gardens that brought delights and surprises including Chartwell.

Blousy summer blooms in late August

There's a lot in bloom right now and I've explored pinks, yellows, greens and plants as an art form. But now the seasons are moving on and I'm looking forward to all the autumn colours all over the country. 

Up in the air at Sissinghurst!

Sissinghurst Castle, former home of Vita Sackville West, is one of the most visited gardens in England. But, in more than two years of garden visiting all over the world, I've never given it a full review before because whenever I've tried to visit, the property is so crowded, it's hard to appreciate the gardens and virtually impossible to take photographs without catching a large crimpolene "behind" in the viewfinder! In a moment of madness, I decided to get there as the gates opened today on a Bank Holiday Monday!

 Climb the Tower to see the garden below

Vita Sackville West - poet, novelist and gardener - moved here with her husband Nigel Nicholson in 1930 and together they created a home that is now a museum, and a garden that has became one of the most famous in the country, but to understand why, you need to see the grounds from the top of the Elizabethan Tower (right).      

Once you see the garden from above you realise it's a series of rooms around a moated Tudor manor. And although every "room" is unique, it's difficult to grasp the layout from the ground, because each area sits behind high hedges and you find yourself wandering from one to another, reliant on a map. But be warned, you climb the tower at your peril and there's no crowd control on the steep and narrow stairs! But once at the top, all becomes clear because you have a panoramic view of the gardens below.

The Tudor manor house seen from above, with all the outbuildings behind

It's the architecture that's dictated the garden at Sissinghurst. There's a manor house dating back to Tudor times (above), with a walled lawn garden; a Tower which forms the focal point of the estate; and a series of gardens laid out around the two main buildings, moated on two sides and carefully orchestrated to provide a garden symphony that has become famous throughout the world.

The cottage and garden, always in bloom throughout the summer months

Vita, who was born of noble parentage at nearby Knole in Kent, became well known after WWII for her gardening column in the leading UK Sunday paper, 'The Observer',  and it's said that she "did more to change the face of English gardening than any other writing since (William) Robinson's 'English Flower Garden'. But one wonders how much influence she exerted for her other persona, as a leading light in the Bloomsbury Set, and her well-publicised affairs with both Violet Trefusis and Virginia Woolf.

The Rose Garden from above

But however Vita made her way to fame, the garden at Sissinghurst is both unique and unusual when you consider that she started work on it more than 80 years ago! There's much debate as to whether she and Harold were the first to create an entirely white garden, but there's little doubt that this is one of the features that attracts visitors from all over the world, and in June it's magnificent! But you'll also love the Rose Garden, the Cottage Garden, the much-loved Moat Walk and the Nuttery.

The White Garden from above, adjacent to the Priest's House

The National Trust has been running Sissinghurst since 1967. Vita died in 1962 and left the property to her son Harold, although her husband - Nigel - remained in residence. But the family soon realised it was impossible to pay the inheritance taxes due on the property, so they approached the Trust to take it on, which took five years of negotiation. Today few would dispute the value of Sissinghurst to the nation, but it was a daunting prospect for the Trust when they took it on, because their expertise was in houses, not gardens!

The White Garden in bloom in June - the centre piece was designed by Vita and Nigel's son, Harold

Sissinghurst is just one of several properties owned by the National Trust which has Bloomsbury Set connections. Virginia Woolf's country cottage - Monk's House, near Lewes - is also open to the public, although the gardens here are on a much smaller scale. But today it is one of their flagship properties and attracts more than 250,000 visitors a year!

It has to be said that Sissinghurst is an impressive garden, but credit should go to the head gardeners here, who have worked tirelessly for the last 45 years to create a living postcard of how the other half lived! This, like Hidcote Manor is a showcase garden, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year because its reputation has spread worldwide. Vita did much to publicise her own plot when she was alive, through her gardening columns, but the National Trust knows the value of this property and works hard to keep it looking pristine throughout the year!

Green dreams to distract you from Irene!

I've been watching news of Hurricane Irene and thinking of all East coast US bloggers - hope these shots will provide a little distraction!

Mellow yellows - is Autumn coming early this year?

It seems that autumn is already in the air here in England and it's not even the end of August! Hope that all our East coast US friends have survived Hurricane Irene. We've certainly had the backlash recently in England with all the rain and winds. Hope you all have a good Bank Holiday - I'm planning a few garden visits over the weekend and next week if the sun stays out, even if there is a chill in the air.

Thoughtful Thursday - Plant Art

If all this English rain is getting to you, why not visit a botanical garden and look in the glasshouses?

Wordless Wednesday - In the pink!

Magic Monday - in bloom around Brighton!

Sussex Prairies 

Art in the Garden at Sussex Prairies yesterday

Preston Manor, Brighton

Sandgate Close, Seaford

Kipling Garden, Rottingdean

Preston Manor, Brighton

Preston Park, Brighton

Appealing August Gardens 1 - Loseley Park

Loseley was built in 1562 and is a fine example of Elizabethan architecture

There's something about an August garden that's very appealing - it's like watching someone letting down their hair, putting their feet up and breathing a sigh of relief that all their work is done at the end of a long day! So, in the first of several new garden reviews, I'll walk with readers through some gardens that still look good at the end of a long season's work, starting with Loseley Park in Surrey.

The 2.5 acre walled garden looks good throughout the season

This is a lovely garden to visit at any time during the season, starting with the first flush of euphorbias and forget-me-knots in spring, followed by the magnificent wisteria and now with all the bright-coloured late summer flowers in bloom.  The first time I visited was in May a few years ago - the walled garden looked glorious then and what struck me about this garden was the abundant planting. It was a wonderful fantasy land in springtime, and a pleasant surprise to find even more colour in August.

Abundant planting is one of the most memorable features at Loseley

The walled garden here dates back to the 16th century, but was revamped nearly a century ago and based on a Gertrude Jekyll design and divided into "rooms", to include a herb garden, rose garden, white garden and flower and vegetable gardens. The rose garden, which is still in bloom and giving off glorious scents, was renovated in some 15 years ago and although I've yet to see it in full splendour in June or July, it's still a wonderful sensory delight at this time of year.

You can sit and reflect in the white garden

The Elizabethan house was built for Sir William More in 1562 and sits in glorious parkland near Guildford, so is easily accessible from London. It is home to the More-Molyneux family today and they have spent the last 15 years improving the walled garden and making it what is is today. The central avenue of trees (below) makes a wonderful backdrop for crocosmias, dahlias, daylilies and ornamental grasses in high summer.

The walled garden is like a brightly-coloured Impressionist painting at this time of year

Patrick Taylor, well-known UK garden visit guru, says this garden is "not of startling originality, but it is skilfully planted and excellently maintained". But I'm afraid I disagree - I think the garden is both "startling" and "original" and I for one will be visiting again, because it's like walking through  an Impressionist painting! Loseley remains open until mid-September, so do get there if you can - opening times are 11.00-17.00 daily, except Mondays, but open for the bank holiday next Monday.

The wildflower meadow

Loseley belongs to the Historic Houses Association, so members get in free, but unlike many other great country house gardens, the house is also open to the public, so once you've wandered through the garden, you can see how the other half live, as you wander through well-proportioned rooms, furnished in the best of British style! And if you're looking for other gardens nearby, there's always RHS Wisley.

The house is also open to the public, so why not see how the other half live?

Best of British lawns! Anyone for croquet in an English garden?

Montacute in Somerset, which dates back to Elizabethan times

Britain has one aspect of gardening that's famous throughout the world - its lawns! English gardens have always been celebrated, but where did we get this concept of huge green tracts of land synonymous with large country houses? It's origins are unclear, but there's little doubt that when you see this feature in a garden, it leaves a lasting impression, like Montacute House in Somerset (above). Nothing is more pleasing to the eye that an immaculately mown lawn, especially if you haven't had to mow it yourself!

Lawn is a major feature at Mapperton in Dorset, a fine example of a Jacobean house

The word "laune" dates back to the 16th century, but is thought to have its origins in the Celtic language, where it meant enclosure. And although it's unclear how this word became "lawn", the history of large areas of cut grass has been integral to British garden design since gardens were first created here in Tudor and Elizabethan times (see Montacute, top). They were used for social gatherings, and by the time Jacobean architecture had become fashionable, they became synonymous with aristocracy. Take Mapperton House in Dorset (above)  as a fine example, where large areas of lawn are part of the garden design.  

Rousham House is one of the best examples of William Kent's "landscape gardening" style

The garden at Rousham House in Oxfordshire is one of the finest examples of William Kent's work, and clearly demonstrates the style of gardening introduced in the 18th century - landscape gardening - where the lawn flows into the open landscape. Both he and Lancelot "Capability" Brown, brought British gardens to a new height when they started designing huge gardens, where emphasis is entirely on the overall aspect of the garden and blending it into the country beyond, using statuary and landscape features to draw your eye into the distance.

There's nothing more appealing than clean-mown lawn lines, seen here at Hever Castle

All gardeners know that lawns have become so accepted today that we spend considerable amounts of time working on them, mowing, weeding, feeding and replanting them! In fact the lawn industry, both here and overseas is not to be overlooked, because it provides a regular source of work during the summer for contractors, and those of us who have our own lawns probably spend a considerable proportion of our free time looking after them. And as Michael Pollan said: "A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule".

The croquet lawn at Lytes Cary in Somerset

And then of course there's our croquet and tennis lawns, dating back to the 19th century. The All England Croquet Club was formed in 1868 and there's nothing better than seeing a game in progress on a hot summer's day here in the UK. The All England Tennis Club was formed just a decade later in 1877 - both started new worldwide trends in ball games, and there can be few of us left who don't sometimes sneak in and watch play at Wimbledon on our televisions during the annual tournament! Notable National Trust gardens with croquet lawns include Lytes Cary Manor (above) and Hidcote (below).

If you can bear to leave the garden, find time to watch the croquet at Hidcote Manor

I'm sure that I, like most of us, prefer to look at a lawn rather than mow it and there's plenty of gardens here in the UK where you can do just that. And James Dent echoes my sentiments exactly, when he says: "A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing and the lawn mower is broken".

Is Seaford's Sandgate Close the UK's smallest botanical garden??

I was invited to visit a garden in Seaford, East Sussex today that opens for both the National Gardens Scheme and other selected charities, but was lucky enough to get a private view! I was simply amazed by what I found when I arrived at Sandgate Close and spent well over an hour talking to the owner and taking photographs. This is undoubtedly a "Garden of Eden" and one to put on your Wish List, with more than 500 different plant species in under an eighth of an acre - perhaps it also qualifies as the smallest botanical garden in terms of acreage in Britain?

This plot is the brainchild of Denis and Aideen Jones, who arrived here in 1982, when there was nothing more than a poor quality lawn and 12 Leylandii along the back fence. Times have certainly changed and today they have one of the most impressive small plots I've seen on my gallopings so far. Enter through the garden gate and you are transported into a magical world of plant wizardry. Every inch of garden is covered with different plants and this is also a fine example of how to live without a lawn!

Everywhere you look in this tiny plot, flowers are blooming and you are drawn into a magical plant world that begs further investigation. I can't think of any better place to take children to teach them about plants; or grownups who love gardening. This is a veritable Plant Kingdom and a fine example of cottage style planting taken to extremes. 

Clever use of mirrors makes the garden feel much larger than it is. So too do the winding pathways between the plants. But what I really liked about the Jones' approach to their garden is that they only use local suppliers to reduce "product miles', they recycle as much as they can, and produce their own compost. They are also committed to raising funds for local charities.

As said earlier, Denis and Aideen open their garden several days each year for charity, but they also open by appointment, and if you'd like to see the garden at Sandgate Close, you can mail Denis direct at deniswjones@gmail.com. I really enjoyed my visit, and returned home wishing that I could turn my garden into an equally magic plant kingdom! If you're going to be in the area, why not combine this with a visit to Driftwood, just down the road, and also open by appointment.