Sissinghurst

We have just  visited Sissinghurst castle...one of the most famous english gardens set in the countryside of Kent. Its such a well known and well documented garden that one has such great expectations of what it is going to be like and when I visited Sissinghurst in the height of summer a few years ago, I was slightly dissappointed.  I found the plantings a little light on and the emphasis then was on the design, the structure making the garden rooms and the hedges that actaully mad the garden come together.
But this time is was muxh more interesting.
This time, I found the emphasis was all about the wonderful plants.
There were lots of lovely species that I was familiar with but even more that I hadn't seen before.  Certainly read about in books but hadn't seen flowering before.
Being mid spring, all sorts of interesing things were in full bloom.
Granted the planting was still a bit sparse in some places...  but am I being a bit hard.....?
Of course like everywhere else, the roses were beautiful.  The peony were just starting to really bloom......unlike in France where they were in full blazing finishing of blooms....a bit warmer in France I think
The overall feel of the garden was beautiful, peaceful, wild, gentle and rather countrified.
There were views and vistas and walks and arbours, well proportions garden rooms, colour and interest and wildmeadows and countryside.
Overall conceptually quite lovely with areas of lushness.
So a very different garden in the springtime.

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