Sissinghurst Castle - Part Six

The photo above shows the wrought iron arbor over the crossing of the two main walks in the White garden. 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.

Vita wrote a regular gardening column in the Observer; in her article for the fifth of july 1955, Vita described her plantings in the White Garden: "There is a white underplanting of various artemisias, including the old aromatic Southernwood; the silvery Cineraria maritima, the grey santolina or Cotton Lavender; and the creeping Achillea ageratifolia. Dozens of the white Regale lily (grown from seed) come up through these. There are white delphiniums of the Pacific strain; white eremurus; white foxgloves in a shady place on the north side of a wall; the foam of gypsophila; the white shrubby Hydrangea grandiflora; white cistus; white tree peonies; buddlia nivea; white campanulas and the white form of Platycodon mariesii, the Chinese bellflower. There is a group of giant Arabian thistle, pure silver, 8 feet high. Two little sea buckthorns, the grey willow-leaved Pyrus salicifolia sheltered the grey leaden statue of a Vestal Virgin. Down the central path goes an avenue of white climbing roses, trailing up old almond trees. Later on there will be white Japanese anemones and some white dahlias...."

The planting that Vita wrote about has remained basically unchanged. The gardeners at Sissinghurst have continued to try new plants and new varieties of plants that Vita grew; the 'Iceberg' roses that were planted the year after Vita's death being the most famous and controversial example. Many people have felt that while the pure white 'Iceberg' roses are beautiful, they replaced older roses of a more creamy hue, and so are not true to Vita's vision. I have read that some of the 'Iceberg' roses have been removed and I can understand why, even though Vita would probably have loved them. Vita has almost become the patron saint of good taste for many gardeners who feel that if Vita didn't say that she loved a certain plant, then that plant should never be introduced into the sacred ground of Sissinghurst.