September in Our Favorite English Garden, Part 1
After nearly two weeks of visiting gardens in France and England, Judy and I were beginning to feel satiated in a way the Germans call Gartensodden. Or if they don’t call it that, they should (possibly I made that word up). And so it was with a certain weariness that we headed off to Great Dixter on our last day in the English countryside.
The weariness did not last. This was, without doubt, our favorite English garden. Great Dixter was the home of the late gardener and garden author Christopher Lloyd. I have not read any of his books, because I always felt that English gardeners did not have much to say to gardeners in the American Midwest. Oh, foolish me.
Great Dixter is exciting, joyful, surprising, and playful. Or I thought so, anyway.
We walked first into the Barn Garden. As at Sissinghurst, yews are used for background and dividing garden areas. But as we shall see, these are not neat, geomtric, anal retentive yews.
In many places Great Dixter explodes with colors. You feel like these ebullient flowers are going to reach out and give you a big hug. I love this kind of abundant color, so I was enthralled.
Here’s a quote from Christopher Lloyd: “I have no segregated colour schemes. In fact, I take it as a challenge to combine every sort of colour effectively.” A brave man, who fearlessly combines magenta Cosmos with yellow Rudbeckia. Of course, in a large garden it is easier to have lots of different colors in different areas.
The Barn Garden adjoins a barn, not surprisingly. Figs grow along the barn wall. I like the shape of the foliage.
From the Barn Garden, we walked to the Sunken Garden.
Salvia, Dahlias, and Lychnis. Love this mix of red, pink, and blue.
A closer look at the pond. There were no aquatic plants blooming when we visited.
Christopher Lloyd was a free spirited gardener who was happy to let self-sown plants find their own favorite spots. Sandstone was used for the paving.
Another wide view of the Sunk Garden.
Well, I’m going to stop there, as I would not want to cause readers to become Gartensodden. Next: Great Dixter’s Wall Garden and beyond.
gardeninacity 
Well isn’t this just heaven sent! It is a dream of mine to go here and after viewing your beautiful pictures I know that i can not get there soon enough!!!!
You’ll love it when you get there.
You visited at the very best time of year to enjoy Great Dixter! You should read Christo’s books, they are full of humour and sometimes, refreshingly bad temper. This is also a garden still gardened completely in the spirit of its owner unlike National Trust properties which can sometimes seem to be gardened by committee. I’m so glad you enjoyed your visit.
I can imagine September is a good time because Lloyd seemed to love big blowsy late summer-bloomers.
No fear of becoming sodden here! Love those colours – I can see the plants have their say in this garden, and not just the gardener. Like that very much and look forward to the second instalment. 😀
Yes, his approach was to give the plants a lot of freedom to roam.
I love picture number 3 and 4 with all the vibrant colours. Pink and yellow actually look good together. At least in this garden.
Me too, especially the fourth one.
Really great post, funny too. You have certainly captured the abundance of spirit and planting perfectly. Looking forward to part two. 🙂
Glad you liked it.
What lovely pictures of Great Dixter. You couldn’t suffer from Gartensodden here. There is so much to enjoy.
In the fourth picture, don’t you love the dangly pink flowers of Polygonum orientale: Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate? First grown in the US by Thomas Jefferson apparently. You don’t see it very often, I think it is lovely for late summer.
Yes, I do love them, and thank you for the ID!
Christina is right, autumn is the best time to see this garden. I typically visit between late May and mid July, but the September 2013 visit was the best ever. Unfortunately, while many of the other gardens were good, their best comes earlier in the year. Even still, it was wonderful to be in England and visit gardens without the usual crowds.
I would like to visit there in May or June.
I love spirited gardens like this. Glad Chloris identified the Polygonum orientale. Look forward to more Great Dixter.
I should be doing at least one more.
Wonderful post, and wonderful photos. I have never been to Great Dixter but I love Lloyd’s books; you will, too. Next time I hop across the pond, it’s on my must-see list.
Thanks!
I knew you’d love this place – it’s so brave, adventurous and innovative, and I think they’re so lucky that Fergus continues the good work. Do you know Lloyd’s books? They are great fun!
I have not read any of his books, but will make a point of getting to them this year. Do you have a suggestion for one to start with?
“Cuttings” is lovely to read but you should enjoy “Colour for adventurous gardeners” too, Jason.
Hehe, Gartensodden, I like it. With two Flings under my belt, I know the feeling. This looks like a wonderful garden. That shot of the Rudbeckia with the red flowers behind (Dahlias?) and the white daisy is very energizing.
Yes, the garden as a whole is very energizing and exciting.
Another well written garden visit blog Jason. What a beautiful place to visit and judging by not only your comments that you picked the right time to go.
I have to admit to liking the yellow and magenta combo. I grow Persicaria (Polygonum) along with a white flowering plant, that I can’t for the love of me remember the name, and have always had my doubts on whether or not they look good together, your image has just confirmed that it should stay.
I think the yellow and magenta looks good also, but I wouldn’t have thought that it would.
Oh…I have a thing for Yew and really enjoyed the Yew here. What a fantastic garden…..I also loved the sunken pond. How gorgoeus!xxx
I’m usually not crazy about yew but I thought what they did with them here was fun.
I’ve been enjoying your Euro garden series of posts silently on my phone even though I haven’t managed to comment lately This one might be my favorite. Love your term ‘gartensodden’. You always manage to crack me up. Great pictures!
Glad you’ve been enjoying the posts. We all get busy, so don’t worry about not commenting, And as I wrote, Great Dixter was definitely my favorite as well!
I can understand “gartensodden!” I used to see Christopher Lloyd on Crockett’s Victory Garden occasionally. That’s quite a garden!
Now I feel I should hunt up those old episodes on Youtube!
Already I am gartensodden, and I want more! Free spirited and exuberant, not afraid to make a statement, and just a little on the wild side. Christopher Lloyd was my kind of gardener!
If you want more after becoming gartensodden, then you are a true garden lover, or gartenliebhaber.
Wow, absolutely stunning!
Thanks!
YES!YES!YES! An exuberant garden that feels like a hug! That is IT exactly! That’s the same philosophy I’ve used to design my garden but when I’ve described it that way, I’ve gotten some weird looks. Thanks for clarifying which Christopher Lloyd that is. 😉 I LOVE that garden!!
Hey, thanks for the Garden Love! I actually find it difficult to talk about garden design (as opposed to plants) and the comparison to a hug just popped into my mind, so I went with it. It is also the feeling I try to achieve in my onw garden.
I’ve been enjoying your travels through all these gardens. Thanks for bringing them to us this winter.
You’re welcome. Of course, we have no big trips planned this year so I am wondering what I will be writing about next winter.
How nice to see a colourful garden. That was probably Mr. Lloyd’s mantra…colour, colour,colour.
I don’t know, apparently he wrote a book about color in the garden, I think I’ll try to find it.
This is one garden I’d really love to visit. I have a couple of his books but the garden looks so different and more interesting in your photos. All of a sudden I feel good about dahlias again!
There’s surely no reason to feel bad about dahlias? They were all over Giverny also. I’d grow them but I don’t want to mess with trying to save the tubers over winter.
I should have read this first. This garden has long been on my list to see…and I can see why…..I love the form and freedom with the color.
I’m so pleased you love “my” great dixter! Its a remarkable garden and visiting in September yyou get to enjoy it at its peak
It is my favourite garden too. We have always visited earlier in the year, but I have always known what promise September held, so it was good to see those late blooms out. It is such an exuberant garden, and also very reassuring, as it has a very relaxed feel about it.
Relaxed to the verge of anarchy, but in a good way. I would love to go back and see Great Dixter in the spring.