2009

2009 05 MAY
Sissinghurst Castle Gardens 5th May visit Print
Tuesday, 05 May 2009

Sissinghurst Castle Gardens

 

  • Click on the image above to view gallery

National Trust link to Sissinghurst Castle Garden

Cottage garden
.The last time I visited Sissinghurst Castle Gardens was back in late March, just after the garden opened to the public for the year. I really enjoyed my visit on that occasion as I found it interesting seeing the structure of the garden revealed. I knew this time it would look very different as lots of growth from the perennial plants would have happened just like it has in my own garden. It was quite late when I arrived at just after 4.00 but I knew the garden was open until 6.30 so thought I’d still have plenty of time to see everything.


The Garden at Sissinghurst Castle is divided into a series of “rooms” filled with informal arrangements of plants around a theme and it seems to me that each of the gardens has its peak time. For me on this visit it was the cottage garden that I just couldn’t get enough of. Surrounding the cottage are flowers predominantly in hot colours and on an overcast afternoon the colours really seemed to shine out.


Azalleas growing on the Moat Walk
Another area I lingered in was the Moat Walk where the Azaleas were in flower under-planted with bluebells. On the wall was a white Wisteria not quite in full flower but when the sun shone the fragrance in this area was overpowering but intoxicating at the same time.
 

I walked around the whole garden several times.  Being late in the day really was the best time as there were very few people about but sadly it was too windy for me to get my macro lens out as nothing was still enough for me to get any decent shots. I was longing too for the clouds to clear just a little bit allowing some late afternoon sunshine as I knew it would really bring some much needed vibrancy to my pictures. I was giving up hope this would happen when suddenly out came the sun from behind the clouds and at once the colours in the flowers came alive. I quickly walked around taking repeats of the pictures I already had. My wide angle lens was the one I used for the majority of the shots.


It was just about 6.00 pm and the garden felt deserted with just a handful of visitors left but I still hadn’t climbed the tower to get a view over the garden so I quickly climbed the steps to get the view over a landscape that looked very different than it had when I last climbed to the top. The trees in the woods surrounding the gardens were now in full leaf and everything looked very green and lush.


White Garden in May
I was just thinking I should be making my way back down the tower when I heard the sound of keys jangling below me and started to think that someone was about to lock the tower with me in it! I quickly made my way back down the tower steps and she assured me they had never locked anyone in before.


It had been another delightful visit and I could happily have spent a lot longer there. I plan on visiting the garden once more at the end of June when the rose garden is supposed to be at its peak and am looking forward to that already.

3 comments        Show comments        Add a commentAdd Comment


busy
 
< Prev   Next >

See Also