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Sissinghurst Castle - Part Two - Page 2

© Kirk Johnson

Vita knew almost nothing about the practical art of gardening before her marriage. In order to create her garden she poured through seed catalogs, visited nurseries, and made lists of the plants that others were growing in their gardens. In time, she became very knowledgeable about growing plants and combining them in effective ways. Harold was much more interested in the over-all design of a garden. In the introduction to Peter Coats' book Great Gardens of the Western World, Harold expressed his attitude towards garden design when he wrote that "the essence of garden design, as of all forms of architectural planning, is the alteration of the element of expectation with the element of surprise". In the garden at Long Barn, and later at Sissinghurst, Harold was the architect while Vita focused on the plants.

Vita, by Victoria Glendinning, features a photograph of the terrace at Long Barn, along with some photographs of the interior. I confess that I would much rather live at Long Barn than Sissinghurst, so I can understand the anguish that the Nicolsons felt on March 4, 1930 when they heard that Westwood, the farm next door, was being bought by poultry farmers. They thought about outbidding the buyers, but finally decided to sell Long Barn. On the 3rd of April Vita heard that Sissinghurst Castle was for sale and the next day she and her younger son Nigel drove the twenty miles from Long Barn it visit it. Vita immediately fell in love with Sissinghurst Castle, and the next day she showed it to Harold and their elder son, Ben. Harold was interested, but aware of the expense and work necessary to transform the ruin into a home and garden. When Harold and Vita returned to Sissinghurst by themselves, they discovered a grove of symmetrically planted hazelnuts and that was enough to convince them that they wanted to buy the property. They began to do research about Sissinghurst Castle and discovered that it had been the home of Sir John Baker, whose daughter Cecile had married Thomas Sackville in 1554. Vita was their direct descendant; Queen Elizabeth the first had given Knole to Thomas, who was her second cousin, so Vita saw Sissinghurst as a replacement for her beloved Knole. Vita made an offer of twelve thousand, three hundred and seventy-five pounds for the property, which included the castle, a Victorian farmhouse, and about 350 acres of land. Vita's offer was accepted on the 6th of May, and Harold immediately began to draw up plans.

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