Great Dixter, East Sussex; an iconic 20th Century British garden
Christopher Lloyd was one of the most influential gardener-writers of the 20th century. His series of books, such as the most famous The Well-Tempered Garden, their contents drawn from his garden at Great Dixter, introduced a huge audience to the joys of plantsmanship and the principles of good planting. Later in life he published correspondence with his lifelong friend and fellow gardener, Beth Chatto, which remains one of the most delightful gardening conversations.
Enjoy a virtual visit to Great Dixter filmed last summer:
A closer look
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- Glorious planting at Great Dixter – Photo: Bennet Smith
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- Iconic planting – Photo: Bennet Smith
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- Georgeous borders – Photo: Leigh Clapp
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- Winter frost and yew structure – Photo: John Glover
One of the National Garden Scheme’s founding gardens, at which time it was owned by Christopher’s parents, friends of Lutyens who helped with the house and the garden’s architecture, Great Dixter became a place of seminal importance alongside Sissinghurst and Hidcote as the iconic 20th-century British gardens.
Around the venerable house with its steep tiled roof Christopher Lloyd developed an astonishing array of planting in a variety of styles, mixing cottage garden favourites with dazzling rarities while always retaining the garden’s domestic scale and atmosphere. Today the spirit of the garden is brilliantly maintained by Fergus Garrett and his team and it remains as vibrant as it was half-a-century ago when it was inspiring the writing of Christopher Lloyd.
For more on the garden click here
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