Sissinghurst Castle Garden in September
In September, we visited Sissinghurst Castle Garden. I must have been there ten times before but always enjoy going back to see how things have changed.
Sissinghurst was actually one of the first gardens I visited after moving down south from County Durham; and I remember being really excited to see what all the hype was about.
I thought I’d share some of my favourite plants from our visit in this post.
Let’s start with this Penstmon.
I really like Penstemon. In fact, I’ve got about five different cultivars in our home garden. I don’t go in for the garish types with especially large flowers, which is why I like this one.
Pale to mid-pink, medium sized, not too densely clustered. Everything that I enjoy. If only I knew its name!
Not all public gardens label their plants as thoroughly as RHS Wisely does. It looks similar to one that we have called Penstemon ‘Apple Blossom’ which I’ll share a photo of when it flowers in 2025.
Late flowering yellows
It’s important to have garden plants that look great throughout the year. Clematis ‘Bill MacKenzie’ is a good example.
This climber covers its support with attractive leaves before producing masses of yellow, cup-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn. If that wasn’t enough, its seed heads which last through winter aren’t bad either.
This is fairly typical of Clematis tangutica (the most influential parent of C. ‘Bill MacKenzie’) and other cultivars which derive from it.
The Willow Leaved Jessamine (Cestrum parqui) was another good spot.
It’s not fully hardy, but can tolerate our winters in a sheltered spot. If your garden is a cold one, then you’ll have to overwinter it in a greenhouse and propagate frequently to keep it performing.
It’s native to Chile but due to being cultivated in gardens throughout the world, it has escaped into the wild in countries with mild winters.
In Australia, it’s considered a noxious weed. There, it poses a significant risk to livestock which may eat it in times of food scarcity. All parts of the plant are poisonous and can cause livestock deaths.
A plant I don’t see very often (even though it’s not uncommon), is Bupleurum fruticosum. But there were a few quite large and very floriferous specimens growing in Sissinghurst’s Delos Garden.
Bupleurum fruticosum is a medium sized evergreen shrub. It comes from the Mediterranean and enjoys a sunny spot with free draining soil. It’s flowers which open in late summer and autumn are very attractive to pollinators and gardeners alike.
I haven’t got one of these in our garden… yet.
Sticking with Delos
The Delos garden at Sissinghurst was inspired by Vita Sackville-West and husband Harold’s pre-war (WW2) visit to the Greek island, Delos. They were so inspired by its landscape and native flora that they decided to try and re-create it at home.
Apparently, their own attempts at building Sissinghurst’s Delos garden were less successful than what’s there today. Sissinghurst’s gardeners have been “re-re-creating” since c. 2014 with the help of landscape designer Dan Pearson. Dan is great at creating naturalistic garden designs!
Perhaps my favourite plant in the Delos garden on this visit was a Knapweed/Cornflower which I believe to be Centaurea bella. It was spreading across the ground and filling in nooks between large rocks. I’m going to buy a plant very soon.
I’ve never been to a Greek island, but walking through Sissinghurst’s Delos garden, I felt like I could be there. They’ve created an excellent garden
A few other favourites
As you might expect, the garden was peppered with some gems. Among my favourites were this Indigofera heterantha. It reached out across the path causing people to take notice of it and walk on the grass at the same time.
I really like Verbena, but don’t know too much about them. I believe this one was V. hastata. It makes a nice change from the more common V. bonariensis (which I also love).
The Tulbaghia viloacea were in full flower and looking good. You can often smell this plant before you see it. Its common name, “Society Garlic” lets you know what smell I’m talking about.
A spring visit next year
We really enjoyed our visit. I always love to see gardens in late summer; so much variety.
Next year, I’m looking forward to visiting in spring. I remember walking in the meadow at Sissinghurst in years gone by and enjoying the wildflowers and fruit trees that grow in it.
I wonder how it has changed since then.
