Great Dixter House was built in the middle of the 15th century. It is best known for being the family home of Christopher Lloyd - 1921-2006, the innovative garden designer and television personality.
Christopher's father, Nathaniel, commissioned Sir Edwin Lutyens to restore and enlarge the house in 1910.
Picture below, main door of Great Dixter House.
Christopher's father, Nathaniel, commissioned Sir Edwin Lutyens to restore and enlarge the house in 1910.
Picture below, main door of Great Dixter House.
Picture above, part of the main house, window circa 1595, and view of oast house and great barn.
Nathaniel Lloyd loved gardens, designed some of the garden himself, and imparted that love to his son.
Christopher Lloyd learned the skills required of a gardener from his mother Daisy, who did the actual gardening.
He wrote several acclaimed books about gardening, The Mixed Border in 1957, followed by Clematis in 1965, and his best known work, 'The Well Tempered Garden,' published in 1970.
But it was his own garden that caught the imagination of thousands of visitors every year. Great Dixter is one of the most documented of gardens, its most celebrated feature being the immense Long Border, measuring 210ft x 15ft. Picture right: Long border, and details from adjoining border beds.
The garden is in the arts and crafts style, and features topiary, a long border, an orchard and a wild flower meadow. The planting is profuse, yet structured, and has featured many bold experiments of form, colour and combination.
The garden is currently managed by Fergus Garrett, who worked closely with Lloyd up until his death in 2006 as Head Gardener and introduced a number of innovations into the planting scheme.
Christopher Lloyd was noted for his bold juxstaposition of strong colours. He planted and maintained the garden in his innovative style until his death.
Picture right: Early oast house and barn; border plants against topiary.
Picture below: Ornamental daisies, blue flowers and poppies.
Picture right: Early oast house and barn; border plants against topiary.
Picture below: Ornamental daisies, blue flowers and poppies.
In 1979 Christopher Lloyd received the Victoria Medal of Honour, the highest award of the Royal Horticultural Society.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Open University in 1996 and was appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2000.
Picture right:Rodgersia; Hare's Tail; ornamental plant with purple sepals.
The house and garden are open to the public from April to the end of October. Study days, workshops and lectures are held frequently. A charity called the Great Dixter Charitable Trust has been established to ensure that the property is preserved.
Great Dixter House is in Northiam, East Sussex close to the South Coast of England. It has a famous garden which is regarded as the epitome of English plantsmanship. Wikipedia.
Address: Rye, Northiam, Rye, East Sussex TN31 6PH
Phone: 01797 252878
www.greatdixter.co.uk
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Dixter
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lloyd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lloyd_(gardener)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lloyd_(gardener)
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