Great Dixter - a great garden
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Find about the garden at Great Dixter in East Sussex
Great Dixter in East Sussex is a plantsman's garden created by the late Christopher Lloyd. It is extremely popular with all those who like the unusual in plants and flowers and how they can be displayed together. Great Dixter is also one of the most documented of Great English Gardens due to the writings of its creator.
Find out more about this extremely popular garden whether you love Great Dixter already or aim to visit in future - for real or as a virtual visitor.
Great Dixter is one of my favourite gardens and I'm pleased to be able to share this garden with people who have visited in the past, potential future visitors and virtual visitors around the world who will never be able to visit it in person.
All sketches copyright Katherine Tyrrell
You can find out about......
......click a link to go straight to that topic
- An Introduction to the garden at Great Dixter
- Gardeners World At Great Dixter in 2011
- Great Dixter - the garden
- Great Dixter on the map
- The Long Border at Great Dixter
- Christopher Lloyd - plantsman, gardener and author
- VIDEO: Flowering Passions: Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter
- VIDEO: Christopher Lloyd on Desert Island Discs
- BOOKS: About Great Dixter
- VIDEO: The Exotic Garden at Great Dixter
- BOOKS: By Christopher Lloyd
- The Barn Garden, Great Dixter
- The Topiary Birds at Great Dixter
- BOOKS: Dear Friend and Gardener
- The Wall Garden, Great Dixter
- Travels with a Sketchbook - Great Dixter
- The Sunk Garden at Great Dixter
- A trip to Great Dixter in the snow
- Visiting Great Dixter
- Accommodation in the Area
- Articles about Great Dixter
- Blogging about Great Dixter
- Great Dixter - Visitors' Photos on Flickr
- Twitter Follow - Great Dixter
- Comments and Suggestions
Verbascum Olympicum - a popular plant at Great Dixter
An Introduction to the garden at Great Dixter
Very many people visit the superb garden at Great Dixter each year as it metamorphoses through the planting season.
During the summer, the gardens are much more about a profusion of plants and an experience of being in the garden than about views per se. The garden is compartmentalised into rooms and has some stunning planting schemes using both an amazing mixture and juxtaposition of plants. For me it rivals Giverny.
Nathanial Lloyd made the money to purchase and renovate the property and develop the garden by developing a very successful business supplying graphic art for advertising at the turn of the twentieth century. This effectively enabled him to retire - at which point he worked with Lutyens to develop the accommodation at Great Dixter and then became something of an expert on brickwork in English houses!
The structure of the garden was originally designed by Nathanial Lloyd with the assistance of Lutyens.
The planting schemes were developed by his son Christopher Lloyd - a famous English plantsman who wrote about gardening for major publications in the UK.
It has become a labour intensive garden with heavy planting latterly maintained by Christopher Lloyd with the help of Head Gardener Fergus Garrett and his team and, since Christopher's death in 2006, by the Great Dixter Charitable Trust.
Gardeners World At Great Dixter in 2011
Great Dixter - the garden
links to information on the official website and other resources
Great Dixter is a garden in the Arts and Crafts tradition. It was originally designed by Lutyens and then developed by Nathanial Lloys and latterly his son Christopher Lloyd. It's justifiably famous for the planting schemes devised by Christopher Lloyd which fly in the face of much of conventional English gardening
The gardens surrounds the house and is, in turn, compartmentalised into smaller gardens in a style similar to Sissinghurst. The design of the garden was developed post 1910
- Great Dixter House & Gardens
- Great Dixter House was designed by Edwin Lutyens
- Great Dixter House & Gardens
- The Gardens
- Great Dixter House & Gardens - The Nursery at Great Dixter
- Great Dixter nurseries offer a quality service of direct and mail order sales. Most of the plants are raised by the nursery and many can be seen in the fabric of the gardens. They are among the best of their kind and represent the catholic tastes of Christopher Lloyd. There is a descriptive catalogue and expert advice available from nursery staff. You can download the entire Great Dixter 2008 nursery catalogue as a pdf file (268kb) which will open with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
- Great Dixter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Great Dixter is a house 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.
- Great Dixter Garden - a review from the Garden and Landscape Guide
- Great Dixter Garden - a review from the Garden and Landscape Guide
Gardenvisit Editorial: A Tudor house with a famous twentieth century Arts and Crafts garden. Great Dixter was bought in 1910 by Nathaniel Lloyd, author of books on brickwork and topiary, and was restored by Edwin Lutyens. Nathaniel designed the framework of the garden and it has been planted with great flair by his son, Christopher Lloyd, author of many good books on plants and planting. The garden reflects the interests of its creators. - Great Dixter Garden - a review from the Garden and Landscape Guide
- Great Dixter Garden - a review from the Garden and Landscape Guide
- Great Dixter House and Gardens - Northiam, United Kingdom | Facebook
- Official Great Dixter Page on Facebook
- GreatDixterGarden Channel on YouTube
- Official YouTube Channel for Great Dixter Garden
The house and gardens formerly owned by gardener and gardening writer, Christopher Lloyd. Situated in Northiam, East Sussex, the estate is now under the stewardship of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust. For more information visit www.greatdixter.co.uk. - Official Great Dixter on Twitter
- Great Dixter on Twitter
Great Dixter on the map
"Get Directions!" to find out how to get there
The Long Border at Great Dixter
Christopher Lloyd - plantsman, gardener and author
Life and work of the owner and great gardener of Great Dixter
Christopher Lloyd was born in the fifteenth-century half-timbered manor house his parents bought at Great Dixter in 1910.
All his life he developed and refined his celebrated garden, constantly experimenting with new plants and ideas in the use of shape and colour. In 1979 the Royal Horticultural Society conferred on him its highest honour, the Victoria Medal of Honour, and in 2000 he was awarded the OBE in the New Year's Honour List. He also won the Garden Writers' Guild Reference Book of the Year Award with Christopher Lloyd's Garden Flowers
His death in 2006 resulted in some of the best obituaries I've ever read!
- Christopher Lloyd (gardener) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about Christopher Lloyd the gardener.
- Christopher Lloyd | Times Online Obituary
- Obituary for Christopher Lloyd from The Times and Sunday Times.
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD ranks with Gertrude Jekyll and Vita Sackville-West as one of the major figures in 20th-century British gardening. He may never have had the mass popularity of television personality gardeners such as Percy Thrower and Alan Titchmarsh, but through his long career in writing, based so closely on his practical experience, and through his garden at Great Dixter in East Sussex, he was known and respected by gardeners throughout the world as the voice of serious gardening. If British gardening in the 20th century was a long love affair with the Jekyllean, heavily planted, labour-intensive, country garden, it was Christopher Lloyd who best chronicled and explored its riches. - Daily Telegraph - Dear Friend & Gardener
- Christopher Lloyd was our greatest horticultural celebrity. His garden at Great Dixter has been a place of pilgrimage for gardeners from all over the world for more than half a century. A brilliant teacher, he shared his knowledge in punchy prose with thousands of readers in The Guardian and Country Life and in his many books. He never wrote unless it was as a direct result of his own experiments with plants.
- Christopher Lloyd - Obituaries, News - The Independent
- Christopher Lloyd, gardener and writer: born Northiam, Sussex 2 March 1921; OBE 2000; died Hastings, East Sussex 27 January 2006.
British horticulture is blessed with many inspired plantsmen and elegant writers, but rarely do those qualities combine as seamlessly as in Christopher Lloyd. The inheritor of a classic English garden to which he devoted his entire life, he was uniquely able to transmit his passion to gardeners - and even to those with only a marginal interest in the topic - in numerous compelling books and weekly articles spanning almost half a century. - The Guardian
- Obituary: Doyen of gardening writers famed for his innovative planting at Great Dixter.
The gardener and writer Christopher Lloyd, who has died aged 84 following a stroke, was the supreme master of his profession. Awarded in 1979 the Victoria Medal of Honour, the highest horticultural accolade, he was the best informed, liveliest and most innovative gardening writer of our times.
The author of a string of classic books and, until last October, 42 years' worth of regular weekly articles in Country Life, he was, until his death, gardening correspondent of the Guardian. His garden at Great Dixter, in east Sussex, gave pleasure to thousands of visitors and provided a springboard for conveying ideas - successes and disappointments - to his readers in a relaxed and non-technical manner. - Etaerio - A Plant News Weblog: Christopher Lloyd (Christo) 1921-2006
- Renowned garden writter, Christopher Lloyd, affectionately called "Christo" by his friends, passed away January 27, 2006.
UBC Botanical Garden staff and Friends of the Garden share their memories of Christopher Lloyd:
I like to think I knew Christopher Lloyd pretty well, having both stayed at Dixter on a number of occasions and corresponded with him for fifteen years. Still, I think it was pretty easy for anybody to know Christo if they spent any amount of time with him. He was exactly who he appeared to be........In person, Christo could be very entertaining. His ideas about gardening (as anyone can see from his writing) are adventurous and experimental, but they never resort to cheap tricks and are always based on the best horticultural foundations and practices. Walking around his or any garden with him was a pleasure. - Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: Garden Design
- Designing a garden can be a challenge. We have enlisted the skills of garden designer Mary Newstead to give you a helping hand.
I have chosen the works of Gertrude Jekyll, Christopher Lloyd and Nori and Sandra Pope to demonstrate the art of using colour in the garden and in this section you will find links to their websites and to books, and I encourage you to visit their gardens to really understand what their art is all about.
VIDEO: Flowering Passions: Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter
Christopher Lloyd talking about the Long Border and plants
VIDEO: Christopher Lloyd on Desert Island Discs
interviewed by Sue Lawley
BOOKS: About Great Dixter
VIDEO: The Exotic Garden at Great Dixter
Gardeners World at Great Dixter in 1996
BOOKS: By Christopher Lloyd
The Barn Garden, Great Dixter
The Topiary Birds at Great Dixter
BOOKS: Dear Friend and Gardener
Dear Friend and Gardener: Letters on Life and Gardening
Amazon Price: $18.49 (as of 06/01/2012)
List Price: $24.95
Used Price: $0.50
A lively exchange of letters between Christopher Lloyd and Beth Chatto, two long-established friends and distinguished gardeners.
In this exchange of personal letters they share their successes and failures, and learn from each other's experiences in their two very different gardens.
A book which has won many plaudits from garden columnists
Release Date: 12/31/1969
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The Wall Garden, Great Dixter
Travels with a Sketchbook - Great Dixter
These are my blog posts about visiting Great Dixter
- Travels with a Sketchbook in.......: Great Dixter
- Yesterday, we visited the house and gardens at Great Dixter in East Sussex. I've heard of it often but have never made the longish journey down to its location in the village of Northiam, seven miles northwest of Rye.
- Travels with a Sketchbook in.......: Great Dixter in the Spring
- We visited the late Christopher Lloyd's garden at Great Dixter yesterday. His book "Christopher Lloyd's Gardening Year has temporarily replaced the art books as my bedtime reading. I'd read all about April in the garden before we got there. I love the review of the book which is quoted on Amazon - it's absolutely spot on!
- Travels with a Sketchbook in.......: The Rother Valley from Great Dixter
- Friends of Great Dixter (and I'm one of them) know that that the choice of available refreshments is not great. Hence a lot of people tend to picnic in the car park before starting their visit or after coming out of the gardens! After all we have all come from miles around to visit the garden - it takes us a complete day!
- Travels with a Sketchbook in.......: The Long Border at Great Dixter
- One of the things I love best in gardens is a big long herbaceous border full to overflowing with blowsy perennials. Such borders came about as a nineteenth century response to over formal gardens and were then popularised by garden designers such as Gertrude Jekyll in the Arts and Craft Period of garden design (see Gardens in Art: Arts and Crafts Gardens #1.) Jekyll's partner in many house and garden design projects was Sir Edwin Lutyens so it's hardly surprising to find that there's a long herbaceous border at Great Dixter as Lutyen worked in collboration with the owner in the design of some of the house and garden. Not surprisingly it's called The Long Border
The Sunk Garden at Great Dixter
A trip to Great Dixter in the snow
YouTube GreatDixterChannel: A trip to Great Dixter in the snow - filmed by Lewis Bosher and Uploaded by GreatDixterGarden on 28 Feb 2012
Visiting Great Dixter
The address is: Great Dixter
Northiam, Rye, East Sussex TN31 6PH
Opening Times 2011
House and Gardens open 1st April to 30th October, Tuesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays.
Gardens 11.00 to 5.00pm (last admission); House 2.00 to 5.00pm
Admission Charges - With Gift Aid, (Standard Charge in brackets)
House and Gardens: Adult £9.57 (£8.70), child £4.62 (£4.20)
Gardens only: Adult £7.92 (£7.20), child £4.07 (£3.70)
Groups can visit if booked and group rates apply
How to get there
By Train and Bus: You can travel to Great Dixter via train to Rye or Hastings and then via bus. Buses run directly to Northiam (on Mondays to Saturday only) from Rye, Hastings and Tenterden.
Rail Timetable information: National Rail Enquiries: www.nationalrail.co.uk tel. 08457 484950.
Bus Timetable information: Traveline: www.traveline.org.uk tel. 08712 002233.
Visitors by car can enjoy free parking at the property, however there is no overnight parking. The post code for satellite navigation is TN31 6PH. See also Google Maps infor below
- Great Dixter House & Gardens - Your Visit
- Information to help plan your visit
Accommodation in the Area
- Perfect as a Leeds Castle or Sissinghurst Bed and Breakfast
- Wilderness Bed & Breakfast has three lovely rooms to choose from. Both The Orchard and The Hopper`s Room are separate to the 15th century former farmhouse and having their own showers they are ideal for longer stays. Equally as unique is the suite on the top floor of the main house, full of period charm.
Articles about Great Dixter
"Does a garden die with its owner?" Christo poignantly asked in one of his later Guardian columns. "I want Great Dixter to continue to be dynamic, and most certainly not to be set in aspic ... I want it to be 'that's the way he always liked to have it' - that sort of thing."
- The Independent - Future of Great Dixter secured by £4m grant
- The future of Great Dixter, the medieval estate which has come to epitomise the English country garden, is to be guaranteed by a multimillion-pound lottery award aimed at conserving one of the country's most remarkable displays of flowers and plants.
- Tristram Hunt: Freshly tilled heritage | Comment is free | The Guardian
- Tristram Hunt: Rejoice! Great Dixter is set to be saved - and we get our finest planted gardening in perpetuity
- Great Dixter: The battle is won - Telegraph
- The battle to save one of the country's most glorious gardens has been won - but not without heated debate. By Mary Keen.
- 'If Great Dixter ever bored me, I would leave' - Telegraph
- Can head gardener Fergus Garrett maintain Great Dixter's spirit of originality?
- The Exotic Garden at Great Dixter House - Telegraph
- Great Dixter House looks to the future with its experimental style that transforms this English garden.
- How to recreate the Great Dixter exotic garden - in pictures | Life and style | The Guardian
- Our selection of plants to bring a slice of Christopher Lloyd's exotic borders to your own garden
Blogging about Great Dixter
View of people visiting Great Dixter from all over the UK and the world
- RHS - My Garden - New verbascum from Great Dixter
- The RHS's online community for gardeners.
New verbascum from Great Dixter
Posted by Graham Rice on 01 Jul 2008 at 08:10 AM
'Christo's Yellow Lightning'...was found in Eastern Turkey when Christo (the late Christopher Lloyd) was on a trip with Dixter head gardener Fergus Garret and tulip expert Anna Pavord. - Great Dixter
- Great Dixter June 27th, 2008
........Since returning in January, I have been living back at Dixter and working here, where huge efforts are going into maintaining the place for its historical importance, horticultural benefit, and fundamentally for future generations of people to enjoy. I said at the beginning that I didn't know the direction of this piece of writing. I think it has emerged as something relatively simple. It is really only an expression of the appreciation of my life, and the people and beauty and spirit that have comprised to make my home home. - Golden Age Gardens - Great Dixter revisited
- Golden Age Gardens
Sunday, June 15, 2008 - Great Dixter revisited - this is my patch
- this is my patch...05/06/08 GREAT DIXTER
I don't know about you but every now and again I visit a garden which instantly becomes my all time favourite, and this one is no exception. Set in beautiful countryside near Northiam in East Sussex, pretty much on the border of Kent, is Great Dixter House & Gardens, family home of Christopher Lloyd, one of the great plantsmen of the 20th and 21st centuries. - louise @ home is where the heart is ...
- louise @ home is where the heart is ...all I love in the home ... and away
24/06/08
my photos - images of great dixter
Remember that very friendly tabby cat I was telling you about, well she lived here, at Great Dixter in Northiam, East Sussex, the wonderful family home of the late plantsman and garden writer Christopher Lloyd. A wonderful house and garden for you, me and the cat to explore. - Ah England! | The Garden Variety: Cleveland Botanical Garden's Blog
- This has been a busy month for me, more so than usual. I just returned from England, where I visited the world renowned Chelsea Flower Show and several famous gardens
Below is a picture of Great Dixter in the county of Kent in southern England.
Great Dixter - Visitors' Photos on Flickr
Twitter Follow - Great Dixter
Business/Estate Manager of Great Dixter House & Gardens.
http://twitpic.com/photos/GreatDixter
Travels with a sketchbook in......
When I travel, I sketch. When I sketch on my travels I record it here.
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OhMe Jan 9, 2010 @ 12:12 am | delete
- Great Dixter is beautiful and you have some gorgeous photos here of the grounds. Lensrolling to Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady
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Christopher Lloyd: His Life at Great Dixter
Amazon Price: $20.37 (as of 06/01/2012)
A highly enjoyable biography of the gloriously eccentric English gardener and writer, Christopher Lloyd ("Christo") who created the garden at the English house of Great Dixter in Sussex, and was regarded as the greatest "plantsman" of the 20th century.
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