une année en Angleterre, des jardins | a year in England, gardens

Sissinghurst Castle and Garden, Vita Sackville-West

17th February 2018

In her foreword « My flowers are mostly intimate flowers, which gain from being intimately observed; and this can be only be done when one can pick up the pot or vase off a table, and stare in odd moments when one has nothing else to do »
Vita Sackville-West. Some Flowers.

Iris reticulata « We especially welcome any flower wich lightens the gloom of winter of its own accord. The more fragile and improbable-looking, the better. Such a flower is Iris reticulata. It seems extraordinary that anything so gay, delicate and brilliant should really prefer the rigours of winter to the amenities of spring. It is true that we can grow Iris reticulata in pots under glass if we wish to do so, and that the result will be extremely satisfying and pretty, but the far more pleasing virtue of Iris reticulata is that it will come into bloom out of doors as early February, with no coddling or forcing at all. »
Vita Sackville-West. Some Flowers. National Trust. Sissinghurst.

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lecture

– Vita Sackville-West. Some flowers. National Trust.
– Christopher Lloyd. The Well-Tempered Garden. A New Edition Of The Gardening Classic. W & M.
– Beth Chatto’s Shade Garden. Shade-Loving Plants for Year-Round Interest. Pimpernel Press Ltd.
– Gertrude Jekyll at Munstead Wood. Explores the life and work of Gertrude Jekyll, probably the most influential garden designer of the early twentieth century. Pimpernel Press Ltd.
 

Goodnestone Gardens, Jane Austen

« During Jane’s visits she was often entertained with diners and dances, and it is significant that she began writing
Pride and Prejudice after staying at Goodnestone in 1796. » Goodnestone Park Gardens.
« To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love » Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen.
The 18th-century Serpentine Walk at Goodnestone ParkWalk in Jane Austen’s footsteps.

18th February 2018

Les charmes des Jardins sont passages d’une scène à une autre, intimités et émotions, mises en scène esthétiques et techniques, calme et sérénités.
Mon ressenti profond est cette évidence que ce jardin est posé là où il devait être, et avec ses énergies.
La présence de l’église et le choix du site dans la campagne lui sont indissociables.
L’entretien exceptionnel ainsi que la large palette de végétaux et leurs couleurs sont autant d’invitations à y retourner en d’autres saisons.
Une découverte sous le ciel bleu et les lumières douces de février.

The sight from one scene to another, from intimacies to emotions, from esthetical to technical stagings, from peace to serenity, is part and parcel of the spell of the gardens.
I have deeply felt the evidence that this garden with its energies had been laid out at the very place it belongs.
Therefore, the location of the church and the choice of this very site in the countryside are both inseparable from it.
The unique maintenance as well as the range of plants and their palette of colours are so many incentives to come back to it in other seasons.
Such an amazing discovery in the gentle light of February beneath the unexpected clear bue skies.
éric

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lecture

2019 Garden Events at Goodnestone

Richard Morse. The Book of Wildflowers. Collins. Illustrated by Doris Meyer. January 1943
« I have a bank whereon the wild thyme blows;
Where ox-lips and the noddling violet grows;
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine;
With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine » William Shakespeare
 

en 2018

en 2018 les visites des jardins de Goodnestone Park Gardens, Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Great Dixter House & Gardens, Pashley Manor Gardens, Mottisfont’s rose garden, Hole Park Gardens, Bedgebury Pinetum, Hillier Nurseries and Garden, Godinton House and Gardens, Scotney Castle.