A Visit to Great Dixter House & Garden

The Great Dixter House & Gardens, a Pilgrimage for the Horticulturalist

Members of the HenFeathers team visited the wonderful Great Dixter House & Gardens in the rolling hills in East Sussex, England. From Great Dixter’s exquisite floral displays to its captivating décor and architecture, every aspect of this historic house & gardens is engaging and enchanting! At the heart of Great Dixter's allure lies its garden, which seamlessly blends traditional English gardening principles with avant-garde creativity. The garden's design, initially conceived by the legendary gardener Christopher Lloyd and later refined by his successor, Fergus Garrett, showcases a harmonious interplay of colors, textures, and forms.

Some of Our Favorite Parts of the Garden:

• The Sunken Garden with tranquil Lily Pad Pond
• The Topiary Garden is dotted with well-trimmed topiaries set in a beautiful meadow
• The Orchard provides a charming backdrop for fruit trees and wildflower meadows
• Wondering the Meadows you can find the Orchard Garden, High Garden, Vegetable Garden, and Peacock Garden where you are surrounded by lush foliage and exotic plantings
• Nursery (Extensive Plants Cultivated for the Garden and for Sale)

The garden expresses the amazing beauty of the plants grown together abundantly, in a long-tended and much-loved historic setting. Sir Edwin Lutyens first laid out Great Dixter for his clients Nathaniel and Daisy Lloyd. Their son Christopher Lloyd continued to develop the garden into a mecca for plantsmen and today Fergus Gwaent has become the head gardener – he is now Chief Executive – and lecturers all over the world and in 2019 was awarded the coveted RHS Victoria Medal of Honor.

Entrance to 15th Century Manor Home

Planter Group at Manor House Entrance

Sunk Garden (Geometric Lily Pad Pond)

Topiary Garden From the Meadow

Looking at Entrance to Sunk Garden (Lily Pad Pond) Through Yew Hedge Arch

Entrance to Sunk Garden (Lily Pad Pond) with Great Barn in Background

Entrance to Sunk Garden (Lily Pad Pond) with Great Barn & Oast in the Background

Fig Espalier in Sunk Garden

Looking at Front Meadow Through Hedge Arch from Sunk Garden

Topiaries at Great Dixter Peacock Garden

Topiaries at Great Dixter Garden

Topiary Garden Lawn Looking at Manor House & Oast

Topiary Garden Shed

Orchard Garden

Great Dixter Vegetable Garden

Great Dixter Vegetable Garden

Flowers in the High Garden

Great Dixter Garden Path

Yew Hedge Arch Entrance to High Garden

Path to the Nursery

Topiary Garden/Lawn Looking at Oast House

Great Dixter's Architecture Reflects the Properties’ Rich Horticultural Heritage:

Timber, stone, and brick are used throughout the property to create structures that blend seamlessly with the natural surroundings, ensuring a sense of continuity and timelessness.

Some of HenFeathers Team's Favorite Buildings Include:

• Tudor Style 15th Century Manor House
• Historic Oast House, once used for drying hops, now a collection of rare & exotic plants
• The Great Barn
• Nursery (Utilizing repurposed agricultural buildings)

Topiary Garden Looking at the Back of the 15th Century Manor House

Side of 15th Century Manor House with Steps

Main Hall in 15th Century Manor House

View of 15th Century Manor House from the Long Border Path

Garden Bench on Long Border Path

Oast House & Great Barn Side View

Topiary Garden Looking Over the Majestic Climbing Rose to the Back of the Manor House

Path Through Majestic Climbing Rose

High Garden

Yew Hedge Arch to the High Garden

Giant Yew Hedges Bordering the High Garden

Potting Shed at End of Manor House

The Nursery Green House

Nursery Potting Shed

Nursery Garden Shed

Water Tank at Nursery Garden

Nursery

Nursery Garden

Garden Gate

About Great Dixter House & Gardens

Great Dixter House & Garden, located in Northiam, East Sussex, England, is renowned worldwide for its enchanting charm, natural beauty, and innovative design and is a sister garden to Chanticleer in, Wayne, PA, which the HenFeathers team has also visited in the past, see our Chanticleer blog post! The historic manor house at Great Dixter dates to the fifteenth century and is a Tudor-style facade providing a striking backdrop. Great Dixter serves as a source of inspiration and innovation for gardeners and designers around the world!