What can be done in gardens

 

This now seems like a long time ago, but while we were in Kent we went to Sissinghurst, the home of Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville West. We'd been there before and I was keen to return and to walk again through the glorious gardens.

 

This, above, is the view from the tower where Vita S W wrote her novels and gardening articles. Sissinghurst was rebuilt in 15-something but was largely in ruins by the time the Nicolsons bought it in the 1930s. Bits remain, including the tower (obviously).

 

It's easy to fantasise that if we all lived in a wonderful place, we might achieve amazing things... but she didn't just sit in her tower gazing out like Rapunzel: she wrote a whole lot of stuff and created the beautiful gardens. I imagine they had help; but Vita and Harold completely transformed the gardens and were influential in garden design: he in the planning of garden "rooms" and she in the choice of plants.

 

 

Here is the tower, with Daughter 2 providing a splash of colour in the middle ground.

And here she is again, somewhat disturbing the monochrome effect of the famous white garden (but Daughter 2 improves any scene, in the opinion of her doting mother).

If only I had a big pot like this, a nice paved circle to put it in and no slugs.

I don't terribly go for hot colours in a garden but this was cheerfully bright even without my family's coats.

And then we came home to get our fix of the grandchildren. Above, Grandson draws road layouts round the side of our, less impressive, establishment.

Me: Is that round thing a roundabout?
Him: No, it doesn't have any exits. It's just a wiggly road.

Silly me.

And Granddaughter played in the sandpit. To each his / her own.

And then we had Thimbleanna to stay!