Sissinghurst Castle Garden
Free RHS Member days
January–February and November–December, when open
About the garden
When poet and writer Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat and author husband, Harold Nicolson, first fell in love with Sissinghurst Castle in the early 1930s, it was a very different place from what we see today. Back then, the buildings were home to farm workers, and the land was largely practical with rows of vegetables, fields of cereals, and well-established orchards and hop gardens.
Over the next 30 years, Vita and Harold transformed this working farm into one of the most celebrated gardens in the world. Harold’s meticulous design of intimate garden rooms combined with Vita’s colourful, abundant planting created a space that reflects the beauty, romance and intimacy found in her poetry and prose.
As Sissinghurst approaches its centenary in 2030, that spirit of romance remains at the heart of the garden. Head Gardener Troy Scott Smith explains: “We want to capture the sense of a garden drawn from the ruins of its abandoned past.”
You can look out for changes that reflect this vision, as well as panoramic views from the tower and the 450-acre estate. Sissinghurst is also a place of horticultural innovation. In 2020 – 2023, Sissinghurst hosted an RHS Hemerocallis trial to reassess plants for the Award of Garden Merit in today’s changing climate.
Facilities
- Assistance dogs only
- Plant sales
- Refreshments
- Toilets
Key features
- Gravel garden
- Autumn colour
- Cottage planting
- Mediterranean/Italian garden
Get involved
The RHS is the UK’s gardening charity, helping people and plants to grow - nurturing a healthier, happier world, one person and one plant at a time.