Sissinghurst: Vita Sackville-West and the Creation of a Garden

by Vita Sackville-West, Sarah Raven

From 1946 to 1957, Vita Sackville-West, the British poet, bestselling author of All Passion Spent and maker of Sissinghurst, wrote a weekly column in the Observer depicting her life at Sissinghurst, showing her to be one of the most visionary horticulturalists of the twentieth-century. With wonderful additions by Sarah Raven, a famous British gardener in her own right who is married to Vita's grandson Adam Nicolson, Sissinghurst draws on this extraordinary archive, revealing Vita's most loved flowers, as well as offering practical advice for gardeners. Often funny and completely accessibly written with color and originality, it also describes details of the trials and tribulations of crafting a place of beauty and elegance.

Sissinghurst has gone on to become one of the most visited and inspirational gardens in the world and this marvellous book, illustrated with drawings and original photographs throughout, shows us how it was created and how gardeners everywhere can use some of the ideas from both Sarah Raven and Vita Sackville-West. Sissinghurst is a magnificent portrait of a garden and a family.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Travel, Horticulture

386 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Novels of British writer Victoria Mary Sackville-West, known as Vita, include The Edwardians (1930) and All Passion Spent (1931).

This prolific English author, poet, and memoirist in the early 20th century lived not so privately.
While married to the diplomat Harold Nicolson, she conducted a series of scandalous amorous liaisons with many women, including the brilliant Virginia Woolf. They had an open marriage. Both Sackville-West and her husband had same-sex relationships. Her exuberant aristocratic life was one of inordinate privilege and way ahead of her time. She frequently traveled to Europe in the company of one or the other of her lovers and often dressed as a man to be able to gain access to places where only the couples could go. Gardening, like writing, was a passion Vita cherished with the certainty of a vocation: she wrote books on the topic and constructed the gardens of the castle of Sissinghurst, one of England's most beautiful gardens at her home.

She published her first book Poems of East and West in 1917. She followed this with a novel, Heritage, in 1919. A second novel, The Heir (1922), dealt with her feelings about her family. Her next book, Knole and the Sackvilles (1922), covered her family history. The Edwardians (1930) and All Passion Spent (1931) are perhaps her best known novels today. In the latter, the elderly Lady Slane courageously embraces a long suppressed sense of freedom and whimsy after a lifetime of convention. In 1948 she was appointed a Companion of Honour for her services to literature. She continued to develop her garden at Sissinghurst Castle and for many years wrote a weekly gardening column for The Observer. In 1955 she was awarded the gold Veitch medal of the Royal Horticultural Society. In her last decade she published a further biography, Daughter of France (1959) and a final novel, No Signposts in the Sea (1961).

She died of cancer on June 2, 1962.

Reviews

[Always Pink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and heartwarming compilation of old and new photographs of the famous garden and its creators, quotes and snippets from Vita's garden books, family memories and observations by Sarah Raven, who is married to one of Vita and Harold's grandsons and has the pleasure to live permanently in Sissinghurst. The book presents the avid gardener with priceless advice on planting schemes, plants and varieties favoured by the couple, and even tells you which of the original plants have survived until today. A whole chapter is devoted to the history of Sissinghurst and its connections to Vita's beloved Knowle. Plans and maps show Harold's design of the garden and how it evolved. I especially liked the chapter on indoor gardening, which shows flower arrangements in the buildings and rooms of Sissinghurst – from the kitchen to Vita's room up in the tower. A final chapter outlines how the garden and its upkeep as well as its overall look have changed since Harold died.
An ideal present for the countless admirers of Sissinghurst and Vita around the world. I will certainly order a copy for myself.

This has been written on the basis of an advance e-copy kindly provided by the publishers via NetGalley.

[Julie Durnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this lovely book through a Goodreads giveaway, my very first "win" actually, and I loved it! The author, a gardener herself, is the wife of Vita's grandson and they currently live at Sissinghurst. Her gardening knowledge coupled with Vita's writings from her column in the Observer and her books was quite enjoyable. This book was informative and delightful, very well researched with historical background and pictures of Vita, her husband Harold and the Sissinghurst estate. The plant recommendations and lists for the different garden areas and seasons was better than a Thompson & Morgan catalog! It was an armchair tour of the gardens in all seasons!

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ordered this book after reading ‘The White Garden’ but it wasn’t the book I was looking for. I wanted more of a coffee table book (lots of photos) along with the narrative so that I could actually SEE the garden. There are hardly any photos in the book which is really astounding. The photos that are included are primarily small black and white images. Very disappointing. If you’re a reader who doesn’t want any visuals of this famous garden, perhaps this is the book for you. It’s just not for me & falls far off the mark when the subject is such an inspirational garden.
Cover is 5 star tho.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sissinghurst is the garden created by Vita Sackville-West and her husband, Harold Nicholson. They bought a Tudor era property that was nearly in ruins (it has a moat! And a tower!), fixed up the buildings without much modernization, and then, with Harold laying out the hardscape and Vita dealing with the plants themselves, made a garden that became very famous. Sissinghurst is the home of the famous (among gardeners) White Garden. Vita orchestrated a very lush garden, packed with flowers- especially scented flowers- that looked like they had sprung up naturally. Of course, it took a great deal of knowledge –and a couple of full time gardeners- to keep this looking natural.

150,000 people a year visit Sissinghurst to this day. While it has had changes- some plants didn’t do well, some just got old- the bones and spirit of the garden Vita created remain in place. Sarah Raven is a garden writer who has had the privilege of living at Sissinghurst for a while- she is married to Vita’s grandson. She considers herself the co-author of this book; she has mined Vita’s prodigious writings and included passages from them in the text. With this, we can see what Vita was trying to achieve in the garden and it’s a very interesting look inside. The book includes many black and white photos of the garden, inside the buildings, and Vita and her family; a few modern day color photos are also included. Very interesting for anyone interested in garden design from the viewpoint of living intimately with the garden 365 days a year.

[romney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. This book is a selection of Vita's garden writing put into context by Sarah Raven. Photos are mostly black and white, which is ridiculous in a garden book often concerned with colour. Vita's writing is excellent, but that is all available in previous compilations. Sarah updates her where better cultivars have become available, and groups the writing into sections for scent and so forth. For someone that currently lives at Sissinghurst and is part of the family it is oddly un-illuminating though. I have visited the garden many times and read all Vita's writing on it. I was looking for a real insight, but this could have been written by any good garden writer with a knowledge of Sissinghurst. Also, Sarah clearly has strong opinions about how the garden should be run now and tries to make it sound as if those are Vita's opinions. It just comes off as sour grapes, because the family gave up the garden to the National Trust in the 1960s and have no control over it. I feel sorry for her, but hoped for a great deal more from the book.

[Sherry Mackay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must admit I skipped thru quite a bit of this as it really only relates to very keen gardeners. I did enjoy the snippets about vita and Harold. I loved the photos and the stories about the co-author as she lives and gardens there currently and is married to vita's grandson. Reading this brought back happy memories of our own visit to sissinghurst some years ago. I would only recommend this book though if you love Sissinghurst or gardening.

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seem to be obsessed with this garden, for no real reason. In any case, I losed this book -- not only as a fascinating look at the history of the building of the garden, and Vita Sackville-West's relationship to it, but as a particularly useful gardening resource. I wasn't expecting so much of the book to be excerpts from her own writing, and I really enjoyed that a lot. Sensitively written and very engaging. I wanted even more pictures, of course, but it was altogether well done.

[Louise Davy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointing but an interesting read, nevertheless. Sarah Raven, author, makes a point then gives a long quote from Vita's own writing making the same point. A little tedious as this happened far too often.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2021 bk 9 Written by Vita Sackville-West (through columns and magazine articles written during her lifetime) and her granddaughter-in-law, Sarah Raven, this is a thorough recounting of the founding, development, continuance, and now strengthening of a country garden in England. Through mysteries/novels/travel books I have often read of the White Garden Room of Sissinghurst, and this book did not fail in filling my brain with answers to all of the questions I have had through the years. I also learned more of the other gardens - and found them as, if not more impressive than the White Garden. I now know better how to stack my plantings, and train my plantings for better show. This book is a keeper and a gardening reference book that I will treasure.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raven's plan of grouping selections of Sackville-West's writing into themes was a great idea. Ultimately, though, I couldn't keep going without a stronger narrative thread, or maybe I just bogged down since I mostly read garden essays in bits here and there, and that doesn't work well with a library book. Sackville-West's garden writing is fun, witty, lovely stuff though.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit padded, and sometimes showing the age/classism/snobbery of Sackville-West, but full of useful ideas (both in terms of Sissinghurst's specific design aesthetic & planting) and some really vivid and wonderful excerpts from S-W (perhaps obviating the need for some of Raven's commentary).

[Frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book about the creation of the gardens at Sissinghurst, and the two amazing people who created it —Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson. Sarah Raven is married to one of Vita and Harold’s grandson’s and is a gardener in her own right as well as living at Sissinghurst. She includes a summary of the family history and how the Nicolsons came to purchase the property on which this garden was built.

Vita disliked the extremely formal, pruned-to-an-inch-of-their-lives gardens in which she was brought up, and wanted something different for Sissinghurst. That is, she wanted the garden meticulously planned, but to look as though it had mostly grown up by itself. When her gift for choosing where and how to grow flowers and trees was combined with Harold’s talent for planning the layout, Sissinghurst was guaranteed to become an attraction. Sarah Raven reveals that many of the original plants Vita put in over 80 years ago are still there and thriving—but many visitors are unimpressed, but not because the garden is less than they expected. This is due to the desire of the Nicolsons to give the garden a natural look. Their plans were so successful that some do not realize the incredible amount of work that went into, and still goes on to maintain these gardens. Vita also had a finite budget, so while she was able to have a larger garden than most of us can ever hope, her gardening tips are tailored toward affordability as well as beauty.

Filled with beautiful photographs of the creators and their gardens, this book is not only a treat; it’s inspiring. I’m looking forward to seeing what I can grow in the coming year.

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a garden. Vita Sackville-West and her husband bought the crumbling ruins of Sissinghurst, restored them to a state of livability (although not grandeur by any means), and, most importantly, made the garden into a thing of beauty that thousands of people still visit today. The first three chapters and the last are the story of Vita, the family, the home, and the garden. The rest of the book is chapter after chapter of categorized recommendations of what to plant.

My favorite part was the three sections of color photos. I wish there were ten times as many. The garden is truly beautiful and I enjoyed learning about how it came to be.

I received a review copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book about the creation of the gardens at Sissinghurst by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson. It includes a large number of wonderful photographs, many in color although the majority were taken at a time when color film was not in everyday use. I love the lists it includes of Sackville-West's favorite flowers. It breaks down many chapters by season so that gardeners can visualize and learn from what was happening at Sissinghurst at different times of year. I love the inclusion of much of Vita Sackville-West's original writings; her writing is always exquisite!

I received this book as a Goodreads First-reads giveaway and I'm so glad that I did!!

[Eleise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. I enjoyed the plant descriptions and design suggestions. This is a book about the creation of a garden (one of the most visited in the world) so of course it's going to offer lots of botany and gardening lore and lingo. If you're looking for a biography of Vita, look elsewhere and don't penalize this book for being too heavy on the gardening. Because (stating the obvious) it's a book about a garden.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich hatte dieses Hörbuch ausgeliehen weil ich an Vita Sackville-West als Virginia Woolfs Freundin und Geliebten interessiert war.

Es war auch tatsächlich sehr spannend Eindrücke von ihrer Persönlichkeit zu bekommen, noch mehr als ich gedacht hätte haben mich aber auch Vitas Beziehung zu ihrem Mann und ihre gemeinsame Arbeit am Garten interessiert.

Ich hatte sehr viel Freude an diesem Hörbuch und habe jetzt riesig Lust mir verschiedene Gärten anzuschauen!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a charming look at an English garden that mixes the old world with the current one and tells the tale of a love for the plants and land of the property. The author mixes the original writings of the first creator of this garden with her own thoughts and facts, making this book a great addition to any shelf.

[Barb reads......it ALL! · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a gardener, but turned to this book because of my interest in Vita Sackville-West. Vita was a passionate women in her sex life, her writing and her garden. This book lovingly portraits the passion Vita and her husband, Nigel had for their garden and the creating of it, as well as those returning it to its former glory.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read much of Vita's own works, I really enjoyed this book which looked at her garden writings with commentary and updates by her granddaughter-in-law. A reason to turn to Vita while giving us a window on her garden and ideas through a whole new prism.

[Pamela Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful description of planting and maintaining a garden. It is written in a practical manner although Vita's sense of romance is never far from the page. A fascinating person and a fascinating account of one of her major loves.

[Danielle McClellan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh I do love reading about Vita and her garden. This book was a delight and Sarah Raven provides such an intimate sense of Sissinghurst then and now. I found it captivating.

[Christie Purifoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to Vita Sackville-West's garden writings and home.

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Especially loved reading about the family and their life here and also the creation of the garden but a bit heavy on the plants they planted so probably a good reference book to dip in and out of

[Lisa Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting person (Vita Sackville-West) with tales of Virginia Wolf and others during that period. The garden is inspiring but I really just skipped over parts of this book.

[Kodiaksm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful reading for English garden visitors and Pacific Northwest gardeners.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautifully written book about one of the most romantic gardens in the world. The author is married to garden-creator Vita Sackville-West's grandson (who also has an amazing book out about Sissinghurst--also highly recommend that one). The author does such a wonderful job in the introductory chapter in explaining the appeal and history of this unique garden. A garden created among the ruins of an Elizabethan palace. She poetically and very evocatively described the effect of the overflowing flowers against these antique bricks, as well as provides a wonderfully written introduction to Vita and Harold. As noted, a great part of the book is handed over to Vita's own words, some from her letters and diaries, but many from her famous weekly column about gardening in the Observer. I treasure this volume--like I do my memory of visiting Sissinghurst.

[Matt Mattus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few could ever write a book as intimate as this unless one lived in the same house. Sissinghurst remains on my 'must-visit-someday' list of gardens, but the author shares a perspective few could ever have of Vita Sackville-West and her gardens that this book in invaluable. I particularly found myself writing on the pages -often in haste- as I read line after line of useful tips for my own garden. From potted bulbs that were Vita's favorites to when to sow certain seeds, I eventually found myself wishing that there were more blank pages at the end of this book where I could make lists.
This is one of those books which seems to come off my library shelves every winter when I find nothing else to read, and I inevitably find new gems that will change how I garden.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have rated this book higher if we could do 1/2 stars & if I had found it to be more personally useful; but Sissinghurst is in a completely different climate and style than any garden I hope to build! The pros of this book are Vita's own writings about plants, and learning about the techniques she and her husband used to create a unique and magical space. I did walk away with some good ideas I can alter to apply to my own climate and garden, but mostly it was lists of specific plant species, how to grow and propagate them, and which likes limey soil.

[Pamela Conley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading this book over the winter bits and pieces at a time. The plant descriptions and the detailed discussion of the development of the gardens has been up lifting and inspiring on dreary winter days. The pictures are wonderful. If you are a lover of old houses, gardens, or the history of English gardens this is an excellent book.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a comprehensive, informative book about Sissinghurst Garden. By reading this book, I learned a lot about the history of the garden, and plants in general. I read it because I will be visiting the garden later this year, and I wanted to learn about it in advance. I feel like I accomplished that goal in an enjoyable way by reading this book.