12 April 3, 2022The Sunday Times
Home
T
here are not many
gardens that
people dream of
having the
privilege to toil in,
but Great Dixter in East Sussex
is one of them. The Lutyens-
designed house and its
grounds, the former home of
the gardener and writer
Christopher Lloyd, has long
been horticultural heaven for
his green-fingered disciples,
who flock here to see borders
that look sublime year-round.
Since Lloyd’s death in 2006
the garden has existed as a
charitable trust and its main
purpose is to teach. It hosts
educational courses
throughout the year, the
highlights of which are the
week-long symposiums that
take place four times a year.
Lloyd started hosting
symposiums at Great Dixter
two decades ago, after an
American trustee and editor of
a US gardening magazine
suggested it as a money-
earner. For many years places
were offered only to an
American audience but now,
under the edict of the head
gardener Fergus Garrett, they
are opening up.
There are eight other
students when I arrive for the
annual pruning course, all
women. Two have flown inA SECATEUR
SUCCESS STORY
Would you pay £3,000 to learn how to prune roses? Rosie Kinchen joins green-
fingered disciples at Great Dixter in East Sussex to get the root of the matter
RICHARD DONOVAN/JOHN MORRISON/PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY/ALAMY