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Please use the following format and info on your own site to link to your page in Gardens-Guide.com: at Gardens-Guide.com http://www.gardens-guide.com The premiere directory of open gardens in the UK and Ireland today Ask your friends and suppliers as well to link to your page in Gardens-Guide as well. Every link we get into your page helps rankings for both of us in search engines. **************************************************************** **************************************************************** **************************************************************** Garden Name: Sissinghurst Castle Last Modified: 19-01-2011 Garden ID: 0247 pic: 0247_Sissinghurst.jpg NOTE: If this says "missing", then please send us a picture for your page which is at least 1000 x 1000 pixels in size. Thanks! Owner: National Trust Address: Biddenden Road Nr. Cranbrook Postcode: TN17 2AB County: Kent tel: 01580 710 700 fax: 01580 710 702 website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst email: sissinghurst //at// nationaltrust.org.uk English Heritage Grade: I Opening Times: NOTE for 2012: Please check with garden owners or their website to confirm current dates open http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst Garden & Vegetable Garden: 12th Mar - 30th Oct; Fri - Tues; 10.30am - 5pm, last admission to Garden 4.30pm before closing, or dusk if earlier Closes earlier if dusk is before 5pm, Estate: open all year. Best Times of Year to Visit: Spring / early summer Autumn To see: Spring bulbs, roses Autumn herbaceous National Collection: National Garden Scheme days: Yes Comments: Parties / Coaches: Yes Comments: Viewing by Appointment: Comments: House Open for Viewing: Yes Comments: The library and Vita Sackville-West's study are open 12 Mar - 30th Oct until 4pm Admission Prices: Gift Aid Admission (Standard Admission prices in brackets): Adult £11 (£10), child £5.50 (£5), family £27.50 (£25) Parking: Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes Shop: Yes Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: Yes Teas: Yes Refreshments: Yes Picnics: Yes Dogs allowed: Yes Only on Lead: Yes Events: Yes Other Facilities: Shop and Restaurant open 12th March - 20th Dec ; Fri to Tues; 10.30am - 5pm Features: Sissinghurst is more than a garden. It is a garden in the ruin of an Elizabethan house, set in the middle of its own woods, streams and farmland and with long views on all sides across the fields and meadows of the Kentish landscape. When Harold Nicolson, the writer and diplomat, and Vita Sackville-West, poet, novelist and gardener, first came here in 1930, Sissinghurst was dripping in its own inheritance; it had been a medieval manor house and was visited by Queen Elizabeth in the 16th century before falling into ruins and being mistreated for nearly 300 year Designer: Description of Garden: The garden is made in the ruins of a large Elizabethan house set in unspoilt Wealden countryside. The garden described by Harold Nicolson as 'a succession of privacies', reflects the combination of thei owners' characters, he a classicist, who liked formality and clean lines, and Vita, a romantic who favoured profusion and surprise. She wrote, on first seeing the castle, "I fell in love; love at first sight. I saw what could be made of it. It was Sleeping Beauty's Castle, but a castle running away into sordidness and squalor, and a garden crying out for rescue." It is the combination of these two apparent opposite characters which has made the garden such a major influence on late 20th and early 21st century design. The garden can best be described as a sequence of ten separate gardens linked by vistas. These include the White garden, Rose garden, Lime walk, Cottage garden, Tower lawn & Yew walk, Herb garden, the Moat walk and the Nuttery and the Orchard. The garden is of international importance and repute due to its historic interest, horticultural design significance, plant collection and reputation for the highest horticultural standards. History: Sissinghurst Castle Garden is the twentieth century creation of two English aristocrats, Harold Nicolson & Vita Sackville-West. The tower dates from 1573 and was built for Elizabeth I's visit to Sissinghurst. At its base a tablet simply says "To Vita Sackville-West, who made this garden". Local Inns: Sissinghurst Castle Farmhouse B&B, newly refurbished 5* accommodation on site. Call 01580 720 992 for details. The Bull, Sissinghurst Three Chimneys, Biddenden Accomodation: B&B, Sissinghurst Farmhouse Langley Oast, Langley The Wren's Nest, Hawkhurst Restaurants: Village/Town/Sightseeing: Sissinghurst Cranbrook Tenterden Tunbridge Wells