Billy No Mates Goes to Kent

I was feeling particularly good last week, and decided to tick a few more boxes on the list of things I've been wanting to do.  I'd just finished a big garden design project and decided to escape to Kent for a few days.  Paul and Saffy were invited but if they have to stand still while I take a photo for more than 3 minutes, Saffy starts eating grass and Paul Simpson rolls in fox poo.



Great Dixter
First on the list was Great Dixter, which is run as a charitable trust since the death of its owner Christopher Lloyd in 2006.  He is famed for his bold planting and clashing colours. Most of the original garden design was by Lutyens and there are meadow areas, overflowing mixed borders and topiary.



I really liked this garden and it certainly lived up to expectations. It was probably more compact than I'd expected.  A while back I'd been to a talk by Head Gardener Fergus Garrett and his enthusiasm was infectious.

There were lots of special little areas and I don't think my photography really did them justice, I was using a circular polariser but the sky was not very helpful.  It must be a tourist hot spot as well and there were a lot of visitors making the narrow paths rather tortuous. There's always someone wearing a red anorak in your background where ever you go!







For me the garden was all the more enjoyable for it not being a National Trust Property. Don't get me wrong, I've a lot to thank the NT for and they do make a good job of looking after their properties, but this independent garden was refreshing.

I had a good wander round until the German tourists got the better of me.  Returning to the car, I saw Fergus shovelling soil into a gas fired soil sterilizer which closely resembled a dragon trapped in a potting shed, one hard working head gardener.

It will definitely be a garden to revisit, maybe earlier in the year.

Some amazing planting and combinations.



And some lovely quiet bits.  Trying to keep my reputation for empty chair photos!



I tootled on down to Hythe on the coast and found the Best Western Stade Court Hotel, then set off on my main mission to find whether the Derek Jarman garden on the beach at Dungeness still existed.