Dixter Diary - Day 9

When I went to blog this evening for Day 10, I realized I never finished posting Day 9 from yesterday!?  I fell asleep with the computer on my lap and just never added the text I suppose.  Well yesterday was beautiful at Great Dixter and I had a great morning walk.  An early photographer out in the gardens and I surprised each other and then as I was standing and enjoying the gardens (still very early..), this older man appears next to me and starts talking about what a great garden this is to visit.  He was the Health and Safety Inspector and was there for the entire day and had arrived early for a stroll.  After he explained who he was, he took a deep breath and stated..."But right now, I'm just an old gardener enjoying a wonderful garden."  Pretty neat.  We worked on general tidying, gardening and "potting on" (planting to bigger pots) many plants for the gardens.  It was a fun day that ended up being fabulous as Great Dixter gardener, Rachel, made arrangements for Theis and me to visit Sissinghurst Castle Garden which is only about 30 minutes away.  See below for more about that excellent visit!

Above is the main approach in to the property which is quite famous and sees lots of traffic.  Vita Sackville-West played a major role in developing this property and the gardens (see the link below for a VERY interesting history of this historic site and garden). Thies and I met Troy, the Head Gardener there, and had a great chat.  The two of us then had full run of the grounds (the gardens were already closed to the public) which were exceptional.  See www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst-castle-garden/ for more information on this garden which is supported by the National Trust as well.  I don't understand how that all works but they are trying to infuse more money in to improvements both in the gardens and for many of the buildings on site.  We later met Sissinghurst gardener, Claire out in the gardens as well.  We had a great visit at dusk which was excellent in their White Garden.  Then it was off to the local pub and back to bed.