She was born in 1892 a few miles northwest at Knole, another of Kent’s ancient High Weald estates, and had been dabbling in planting long before she and her husband, the diplomat Harold Nicolson (1886–1968), purchased Sissinghurst in 1930. Early interest was sparked by a brief sojourn at a hillside property in Constantinople when accompanying Nicolson on his travels after their marriage in 1913. The exuberant colours and profusion of vegetation running wild in its abandoned garden made a deep impression.
Two years later, the couple bought Long Barn, a house of medieval origin not far from Knole. As well as visiting the sage of informal gardening, Gertrude Jekyll—Sackville-West described her as ‘rather fat, and rather grumbly’—planting schemes undertaken there between 1915 and 1930 were a trial run for the more fully realised vision at Sissinghurst.
The latter has been described as an attempt by Sackville-West to re-create Knole, a Jacobean pile awarded to her ancestor, Thomas Sackville, by Elizabeth I in 1566. She loved Knole deeply, but was bitterly aware that, as a female, she would never inherit, despite being an only child (the estate passed to her cousin on her father’s death in 1928).
Denne historien er fra October 13, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra October 13, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds