& shades of green in-between
Visiting Sissinghurst Castle Garden in December, we found the mediterranean-inspired planting in Delos to be unexpectedly beautiful for the time of year. The calming, muted palette with interspersed splashes of bolder colour, and the engaging tapestry of form and texture kept drawing our interest from the broader scenic panorama to the minutest detail of leaf, petal and seed head. Completed in March 2020, the garden seems to defy the mantra of ‘right plant right place’ by successfully evoking a wild, sun-drenched Greek landscape in a north-facing plot on heavy Wealden clay, overshadowed by a vast brick castle wall. This has been achieved through the installation of drainage systems, and the use of dry stone walls to retain elevated, free-draining, gritty beds that gently tilt southwards, maximising direct sun exposure. The ingenuity of the garden creators - plantsman and designer Dan Pearson, head gardener Troy Scott Smith, and the National Trust team - ensures that despite higher-than-average rainfall in South East England this summer, the thriving Mediterranean plants do not seem to pine for sunnier climes. The garden restoration also remains faithful to Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson’s original vision of a romantically transportive Grecian landscape scattered with ancient ruins and Hellenistic artefacts, carpeted with wildflowers, and filled with the garrigue’s herbal scents. We filmed a walkthrough of Delos in October this year (click here to view) one sunny afternoon, when the brilliantly blue Mediterranean sky, golden light, and ethereal ancient marble altars all made the Delian evocation very tangible. What we found fascinating about our subsequent December visit is that even under a blanket of cloud, with wintery dampness hanging in the air, and the altars wrapped in unattractive winter protectors, there was a delightful lightness and magic to the space which we hope these images capture.
Surviving a wet winter (and rain-laden summer) in gritty, free-draining soil, Algerian iris (Iris unguicularis) is a true jewel amongst the gravel.
Rich burgundy hues in winter foliage echo the warm tones of brick walls and roof tiles on boundary structures, adding a sense of harmony with the surroundings.
Every garden-room at Sissinghurst seems to have its own charming robin, Delos being no exception.
Spanish broom (Spartium junceum) and day-smelling coronilla (Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca) evoke holiday sunshine and shrub-scented goat paths.
The elegant mauve-flowered field scabious (Knautia integrifolia), loves to colonise dry stone walls.
Drifts of silver-leaved plants, including lavenders, wormwood, partridge feather flower (Tanacetum densum subsp. amani), and false dittany (Ballota pseudodictamnus) reflect light into the space, even on the dullest of days.
Dew diamonds suspended on the felty leaves of false dittany (Ballota pseudodictamnus).
The wellhead stones with honey-streaked hues radiate like a sun at the centre of the agora.
Linear structures are softened by feathery grasses and gently spilling foliage including upright myrtle spurge (Euphorbia rigida).
Seed heads add textural interest and architectural elements.
The seed-laden domes of Achillea coarctata seem to sprout like clusters of fungi.
Verbascum seed-towers accentuate the verticals of column ruins.
Glossy evergreen leaves of the intermediate periwinkle (Vinca difformis) contrast with the textured surface and fossilised oyster shell of stone seating.
Framing the view, the characterful branches of the kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) which survives from Vita and Harold’s original planting.
