The photo above shows the view from inside the tower arch, looking towards the entry range. . The photographs in this article were taken by Dave Parker and may not be reproduced in any way without his permission; his website features many beautiful photographs of Sissinghurst Castle.
The Tudor manorhouse at Sissinghurst had three courtyards. There was an entry courtyard between the entry range and the tower, this still exists with it's proportions unchanged. and is often called the "Top Courtyard" On going through the gateway in the tower, Elizabethan visitors would have entered the cour d' honneur, which was surrounded by the most important rooms; the South Cottage marks the southeastern corner of that courtyard and is the only remaining part of the Baker family's living quarters. There was also a servant's courtyard at the rear of the manor house, but nothing of this courtyard and the buildings that surrounded it have survived, except for foundations among the trees in the orchard.
When the Nicolsons bought Sissinghurst Castle, only the the northern wall of the entry courtyard was missing. Their architect A. R. Powys suggested that a loggia might be constructed the enclose the north end of the courtyard; Harold found the idea appealing, but Vita rejected it in favor of a simple wall; this was built in 1935. The northern wall is the backdrop for the purple border, shown in the photograph below.
The purple border seems to be inspired by the single color gardens that Gertrude Jekyll created and wrote about, but it is actually a rebellion against the influence of Miss Jekyll, who said that purple was a difficult color in gardens and should be used sparingly. Vita ignored her advice and combined shades of crimson, magenta, mauve, lavender, and purple to create what Jane Brown, in her book Sissinghurst: Portrait of a Garden, describes as resembling "a rich tapestry, draped from the wall to the ground". As you can see in the photograph, a purple border can look a bit dull, especially on sunny days (purple flowers are at their best when the sky is gray), but when you think of the planting as an old tapestry hanging against the wall of a grand entry hall, it is very effective.
