The Rose Garden at Sissinghurst - late Spring

Let me provide a caveat for the title of this post - this is the Rose Garden at Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent in April after an exceptionally late Spring (see Sissinghurst - from 3rd hottest to 2nd coldest!)  Which means there was very little to sketch in terms of flowers.

So I went for the big shapes instead!

The Rose Garden at Sissinghurst Castle Garden (22 April 2013)
11" x 16", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Normally "he who must not be bored while I sketch" sit next to me on a bench and he reads his book while I sketch the scene.

However HWMNBB has got himself a new camera!  So this time you get a photo of the sketcher sketching the view as well!  He climbed all the way up the top of the tower to take this one.  Could this be a sign of things to come?  However I still retain editorial control - which is why you're not seeing the one which has provided an imperative to diet!

Katherine Tyrrell sketching the Rose Garden at Sissinghurst
Copyright: He who must not be bored while I sketch.

Here's some more photos of the gardens.

There wasn't  a lot going on in The White Garden although the absence of foliage pointed up the geometry nicely.

Not a lot going on in The White Garden, Sissinghurst Castle Garden 
(22 April 2013)
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Here's the view of the White Garden from the other way on

The view of the White Garden from the Lower Courtyard 
(22 April 2013)
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

In fact, one of the advantages of the visit is that it emphasised the lines of sight and views between the garden rooms which had been deliberately designed into the overall plan for the garden.

The Rose Garden Statue from the Lower Courtyard
(this is the same statue as the one which can be seen at the end of the vista in my sketch)
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

For those of you who have a National Trust Calendar for 2013, compare the April page of the calendar with this view of the same corner of the Cottage Garden - that's how far behind everything is because of the cold weather!

View of the Moat Walk from a very "late" Cottage Garden 
(22 April 2013)
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The one area which was holding its head up high was The Nuttery where the spring flowers were rampant - I guess because they've had some shelter during the cold weather.

The Nuttery - note the Trilliums in the foreground
(22 April 2013)
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

We'll be back again when the weather is better!

Note:  The Rose Garden in Summer is amazing.  Rose growers might be interested in an old newspaper article I found about how roses are grown at Sissinghurst - see Growing roses, the Sissinghurst way

LINKS

• Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Biddenden Road, near Cranbrook, TN17 2AB (Google Maps)
• National Trust - Sissinghurst Castle Garden
• Travels with a Sketchbook - more posts about Sissinghurst
• Sissinghurst Castle Garden - a great garden - detailed information about the garden