• About

digwithdorris.com

digwithdorris.com

Tag Archives: The English Country House Garden

Great Dixter, so good, I visited twice.

05 Thursday Nov 2015

Posted by digwithdorris in Garden Visits

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Christopher Lloyd, Frances Lincoln Ltd., Geoprge Plumptre, Great Dixter, The English Country House Garden

Great Dixter

Great Dixter

If you only get to visit one English garden, I would recommend Great Dixter near Rye, East Sussex. In the lovely book ‘The English Country House Garden’ by George Plumptre, Frances Lincoln Ltd, Dixter is classed as one of the three essentials, along with Hidcote and Sissinghurst. All three are no doubt prime English country gardens yet Dixter is edgier, experimental and remains a constantly evolving garden, hence it is my favourite.

Great Dixter

Great Dixter

The house which dates back to the 15th century, was updated by Sir Edward Lutyens in the early 1900’s when the framework of the garden was set around the medieval manor, barns and oasthouse by a series of yew walls by Lutyens and Lloyds parents.

Christopher Lloyd known as Christo, trained in horticulture after service in the second world war. He lectured at Wye college in Kent, publishing his first book in 1957. He returned to Dixter in his early thirties to live with his widowed mother and used the garden at Dixter as a source of inspiration, trialing and experimenting with plants for his weekly column in Country Life.  Christo published numerous books throughout his life including The Mixed Border and Exotic Planting for Adventurous Gardeners.

Christo may have been ‘posh’ and opinionated but he was immensely knowledgable, writing in a fresh entertaining style.  He took the bones of the garden at Dixter and transformed it with his own distinctive, almost rock’n’roll style.

Gardens, really? Can they be different, can they ever be cutting edge? (no pun)

Certainly the framework of Dixter is quintessentially English: ancient buildings, walls of hedges, topiary, stone paths etc yet the planting is different; looser, bigger, bolder with clashing colour and texture.

Topiary

Topiary

stone paths and yew walls

stone paths and yew walls

 

Autumn colours

Autumn colours including pink, orange, blue and yellow

Big and Bold

Big and Bold

The exclusive use of soft complimentary colours to sooth and recede lost their place to striking hots. Lloyd was never afraid to challenge the eye and used yellows and reds in his planting schemes, not in some intentional hot border, but amongst the planting, everywhere. Brash? So it may have seemed but this was ground breaking and has gone on to become almost the fashion for modern planting schemes.

Hot pokers

Hot pokers

The Exotic garden replaced the Rose Garden and outraged the traditionalists of the time.

Exotics

Exotics

Circular steps with succulents and erigeron

The curved stone steps created by Lutyens are now home to the unlikely mix of succulents, cacti and Erigeron.

succulents

cacti and succulents

cacti and succulents

cacti and succulents

colour mixing

colour mixing 1

colour mixing

colour mixing 2

colour mix 3

colour mixing 3

 

The meadow

The meadow

The meadow which greets the visitor on arrival may now not be that unusual yet it has inspired countless copies to encourage the return of insects into our gardens.

 

If you are still reading at this point, thank you, I shall finish off, silently, with some more pictures.

colour at Dixter

colour at Dixter

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Colour at Dixter

steps with erigeron and valerian

steps with erigeron and valerian

colour at Dixter

colour at Dixter

Texture /contrast

Texture /contrast

Autumn light at Dixter

Autumn light at Dixter

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • Pocket

Like this:

Like Loading...

Blogs I Follow

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 307 other subscribers

No Instagram images were found.

in the press

  • 52 Week Photo Challenge
  • 52 week photo challenge
  • a week of flowers
  • Before and After
  • Christmas
  • Christmas decorations
  • Colour
  • End of month view
  • Garden Visits
  • in a vase on Monday
  • Plant Nurseries
  • press this: other blogs
  • Saturday smile
  • Silent Sunday
  • six on saturday
  • Thank goodness it's Friday
  • The nag list/ jobs to do
  • Top ten blooms
  • Tuesday View
  • Uncategorized
  • Wordless Wednesday

Instagram

No Instagram images were found.

Blog at WordPress.com.

Outer Isles Gardening

Gardening in a Gale

We are out in the garden ...

Living life in the countryside - growing flowers in Warwickshire

One Man And His Garden Trowel

There's always room for one more plant.

Nature Journeys

clover and ivy

County Gardening

Gardening in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada

Pádraig de Búrca - Grow Write Repeat

Glebe House Garden

My week to week gardening diary

Karen Pezzimenti Photography

Gardens at Coppertop

learning, growing, and learning more -- life on the Olympic Peninsula

Piglet in Portugal

A Creative Spirit in Portugal

Hairbells and Maples

Gardening, exploring, photography, Six on Saturday

  • Follow Following
    • digwithdorris.com
    • Join 307 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • digwithdorris.com
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: