Sissinghurst Moat and Orchard in Spring sunshine

Sissinghurst Moat and Orchard in Spring sunshine
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook, 11" x 16"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

I love that short period in Spring when the greens are vivid.  This last week we've been enjoying the third hottest March since records began and I've been in sunglasses all week enjoying the warmth, the intense blue skies, the vivid colours and the fresh new shoots of Spring - and lots of daffodils in two gardens in Kent and Surrey.

We went to Sissinghurst Castle Gardens on Tuesday last week and RHS Wisley on Friday (post to follow re Wisley).

The view of the Moat and Orchard in the Spring Sunshine

At Sissinghurst I sat on the step of the gazebo that Sir Harold Nicholson used to use as his writing room - and sketched the moat.  It's a nice sheltered spot located in the corner of the orchard and right next to the Moat.  It has the distinct advantage that nobody can look over your shoulder while you're sketching.  (Sissinghurst is one of those places where rather more middle class ladies than usual would like to tell you what they think of your sketching and how they wished they could draw...)


[I had a very odd image up earlier - the colour was completely off - I think the Derwent Inktense I used is proving to be rather too bright!]

Here are the photos of the gazebo

Gazebo at Sissinghurst
photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

and the step where I sat

My sketchbooks and pencils
photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

and the alternative view to the right of where I was sat - of the forsythia in "full on" mode

Full On Forsythia at Sissinghurst
photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

We went for a walk round the estate in the afternoon - it was lovely to be tramping over fields and along bridleways in sunshine but the extent of the drought in this corner of England is quite shocking.

If you'd like to see more of my sketches of Sissinghurst - click this Sissinghurst label link

I also have a website which provides more information about the garden - check out Sissinghurst Castle Garden - a great garden.  It's a wonderful garden to visit between April and the end of September.

An aside:  I learned while writing this post that, there's an arty connection to the Nicholasons -  Benedict Nicholson, the elder son of Harold Nicholason and Vita sackville-West was appointed Deputy Surveyor of the King's Pictures under Kenneth Clark in 1939.