The English Garden – September 2019

60 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2019

NATION’SFAVOURITEGARDENS

South East

S

ir Edwin Lutyens laid out The Salutation in

Sandwich, Kent, in 1912. Today the gardens

include a series of symmetrical rooms each with

a dierent purpose and the flamboyant planting

includes heirloom, rare and drought-tolerant plants.

For 40 years, Great Dixter, in Kent, was the home

of gardener and garden writer Christopher Lloyd.

Now under the stewardship of Fergus Garrett and the

Great Dixter Charitable Trust, its planting reflects a

combination of Lloyd’s creativity and Garrett’s skill.

Seven walled sections comprise the three-acre gardens

at Little Court in Winchester, Hampshire. Dating from

the 19th century, the gardens include fulsome herbaceous

borders, and thousands of naturalised crocuses that

bloom in spring, making it a superb place to visit early in

the year. Rich summer colour abounds in later months.

The Old Rectory in Farnborough, Berkshire, was

once the home of John Betjeman. This is a classic

parsonage garden with herbaceous borders, roses, a

secret garden, productive garden and even an arboretum

and bog garden. The property dates from 1749.

Kew Green Gardens in London is actually five discrete

but adjoining gardens that combine to form one large

and unique space extending over one-and-a-half acres.

Borders are low and contribute to viewing, while clematis

and roses climb between gardens to unite the whole.

The Salutation

Kew Green Gardens The Old Rectory

Little Court

Great Dixter