From 1946 to 1957, Vita Sackville-West, the poet, bestselling author of All Passion Spent and maker of Sissinghurst, wrote a weekly column in the Observer describing her life at Sissinghurst, showing her to be one of the most visionary horticulturalists of the twentieth-century.
With wonderful additions by Sarah Raven, Vita Sackville-West’s 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 colour 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.
With wonderful additions by Sarah Raven, Vita Sackville-West’s 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 colour 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.
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Reviews
Full of evocative details . . . elegant . . . Raven's book also quietly reveals the more complicated story behind the apparent ease of inherited wealth
The exquisitely beautiful garden - now in the care of the National Trust - and Vita . . . are wonderful candidates for books; together, they are doubly engaging . . . Sarah Raven gives a vivid insight into the making of Sissinghurst
Dripping in gardening romance . . . [Raven] delights in Vita's chatty writing . . . Read it. You'll be delighted by its charm
[A] well-illustrated hommage, from an intimate perspective, to Vita and her gardening style . . . [Raven's] assessment of Vita's achievement is respectful but not subservient. Her clear-eyed confidence is contagious.
Without doubt the seminal work on the creation of Sissinghurst . . . delightful . . . impossible to put down . . . I cannot recommend it enough
Sarah Raven has a unique knowledge and appreciation of the garden and its creator . . . Her book paints a brilliant and captivating portrait of a great garden and its creators