Sissinghurst: The Dream Garden

Beautiful gardens! I really enjoyed learning about this property and the various gardens. Along with the history, the reader gets to enjoy the beautiful gardens through photos and illustrations. The property has a wide variety of garden styles sure to please any reader.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

During this time when we are under lockdown, readers can explore the grounds of this legendary garden from the safety of their homes with the beautiful book. I am filled with envy and awe over the beauty of this amazing garedn

Wow...what a gorgeous book. A neat look into the life and history of one of the most romantic gardens in Kent in England. So many favorites, from the castle to the rose garden to the gorgeous moat. Such wonderful pictures and detailed writing on how Sissinghurst came to be.

What did I like? I like the detailed pictures, with the descriptions that included the flower names. The white garden was absolutely fabulous with wall to wall flora that is strictly white. I also loved the hedges, some amazing details that make this one garden to put on your bucket list. I would definitely love to see it in person.

Would I recommend or buy? This is one of those books that would look wonderful on your coffee table. An amazing amount of gorgeous pictures and such delectable history. I loved looking at the gardens and seeing all the gorgeous flowers. The book has several chapters spanning the different sections that make up the estate, and the several different gardens especially the roses, and the herb. I would love a copy, a beautiful book!

I received a complimentary copy to read! Just amazing! Five stars.

For £30, you have to make sure the recipient of this book really knows and likes Sissinghurst. And likewise, with the forensic detail of what's where and when it got there and why, and what it all meant to the famous creators of the place, you have to make sure the recipient of this is going to be on board with such detail and description. The superlative photographs show the floral displays at their best, meaning you don't really get a through-the-seasons view of the place other, differently structured guide books might aim for. But this visit to all the 'rooms' of the exterior of the estate is full of trainspotterly insight that the right audience will love. It wasn't exactly a book for me, per se (and indeed neither might be the place itself, for I preferred the views of the moat areas, and the tower seemed fascinating), but anyone can tell that this achieves what it sets out to do, and likewise how much this will mean to the right reader.

Sissinghurst: The Dream Garden is a breathtaking and meticulously documented ode to possibly the most famous garden in the world. Due out 1st Sept 2020 from Quarto on their Frances Lincoln imprint, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

The gardens at Sissinghurst are largely the result of the vision, stubbornness, and some have said madness of Vita Sackville-West. This is a beautifully documented tribute to the vision and inspiration and development of the various gardens in and around the manor.

This is an inspiring and educational book, full of ideas for garden lovers no matter what the scale of their own green spaces. Very few gardeners will have the space to recreate even a fraction of the famous gardens pictured, however, there are so many good takeaways which can be adapted to readers' own gardens. Since the book is absolutely full of color photographs and the text is relatively small and densely packed, the hardcover format is a must.

The gardens represent a wide array of design and execution. The expected formal stately gardens have pride of place with their gracious lines and breathtaking scale, of course. Long alleys of topiary boxwood and formal layouts inspire awe and amazement. What was equally welcome and more unexpected however, were the working areas, informal gardens, orchard, and a surprising amount of unexpected juxtaposition of plants and varieties inviting a closer look.

Each of the chapters covers one aspect of the plantings. The chapters include small maps, well documented discussion of specific varieties (which are listed in the cross referenced index), information about the history and development of each of the gardens, and some commentary and quotes from Lady Sackville-West or contemporaries.
Five stars. Lots and lots (and lots) of inspiration. Aesthetically an enjoyable read with a truly astounding amount of meticulous research and annotation. This would make a superlative selection for garden groups, community gardening, allotment collective libraries, smallholders, and garden lovers.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

I would give anything to have a garden like this. Sissinghurst is absolutely beautiful – I’m sure this book, even with its gorgeous photography, doesn’t do the real thing justice. As soon as I’m able to travel again, I want to see this garden with my own eyes because my God, this place looks like heaven. I wish I had the time and the money to maintain a garden that looks this good.

Garden lovers will rejoice in this title about a very well known and gorgeous English garden.  After an informative forward and introduction, the book is organized according to the varied sections of the extensive plantings.  The text is interesting and the photos invite readers right in.  I very much enjoyed my armchair time in the peaceful nature of this beautiful place.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this beautiful book in exchange for an honest review.  I plan to purchase the book when it comes out so that I can enjoy it in its physical form.

"Step inside the world's most famous garden and understand the strength of its attraction since is was bought and transformed by writer Vita Sackville West and diplomat Harold Nicholson in the 1930s. This unforgettable garden of rooms is influential today for its design, its exuberant planting, and its effect on visitors as a complete garden experience. Author Tim Richardson explores its power and its magic, explaining the nuances of its evolution and shows how we can all enjoy it today."

Needing some inspiration for your garden? Look no further!

I visited this legendary garden long time ago and was happy to visit again via this book.
Gorgeous pictures and interesting text make this book a must read for anyone interested in gardens.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Sissinghurst has to be one of the most written-about gardens on earth - there are several that precede this one as well as multiple biographies of the garden creators, Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson. This is a beautiful book (the photographs are exquisite) that explores each area of the garden (the "garden rooms") and details the plantings and the design. I took away one star due to the fact that in some chapters, I felt like I was back in my college literature classes. A heavy-handed analysis of hidden meanings and the garden as metaphor often brings the book to a crawl. At times I wasn't sure if I were reading a book about gardens or a literary analysis. Still, a stunning book that brings insight into the history of an unforgettable garden and the fascinating lives of the people who created it..

Sissinghurst The Dream Garden by Tim Richardson is a beautiful garden book full of rich history and stunning, detailed photographs.

Sissinghurst in Kent, England is very famous and much visited. Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West are the original owners. Vita was the visionary behind this garden and the book often reads like her memoir or garden journal.

Richardson mixes history and biography right in with the depictions of a garden visit. Like we are there getting a tour. In a time when travel is restricted I loved “visiting” the Rose Garden and also the Herb Garden. I loved the inclusions of Virginia Wolf’s erotic impressions of the bees and apples.

Come visit the Cottage and Tower gardens. Or visit the most while you learn about Vita’s vision.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.

What a truly beautiful book, well layed out.
I have seen this garden many times over the years and now cannot wait to go back. Will definitely purchase this book.

Beautiful English Garden

If you enjoy looking at photographs of beautiful gardens, this book will certainly tickle your fancy. While I have visited England, I did not go to Kent, where this garden is located. The book’s photographs cover all seasons and all times of the day. I thought the photographs of the garden in the morning with a slight mist and frost on the ground were particularly beautiful. The book is divided by the garden’s sections, and a fair amount of text explains the context, restoration, and additions done by poet-author Vita and her husband, Harold. Clearly, they had a flair for color but also sometimes explored varieties of a particular plant, like roses and even thyme. As we are limited at this time, not being able to physically travel too far afield, armchair travel as afforded by this book is welcome. A beautiful, fun book for armchair travelers and gardeners alike.

Anyone that is or has been a gardener will have heard of Sissinghurst Garden, and dreamt of visiting it in person. This book, whilst not enabling one physically being there, the book does transports the mind to the garden with its wonderful photos, colour, plantings and planning in such a scale and vision that we would never see today. Then there is the history and the creators the peopled it, with their ideas and vision, this book has it all. A wonderful book to take ideas from or just to marvel in the past.

SISSINGHURST is a gorgeous coffee book filled with splendid color photos and illustrations of the world’s most famous garden, alongside a detailed bio of its owners, the famed writer Vita Sackville West and her diplomat husband, Harold Nicholson.

One can only be awed by the array of garden rooms, their dreamlike quality and innovative design. They represent a kind of free Eden for this unconventional couple.

A stunning book that should appeal to gardeners of all stripes, and those wishing a peaceful respite from the COVID pandemic.

5 of 5 Stars

Pub Date 01 Sep 2020

Thanks to the author, Quarto Publishing Group — White Lion Publishing, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#SissinghurstTheDreamGarden #NetGalley

A really gorgeous book with a personal touch. As someone from a literary background, I really enjoyed reading about Vita Sackville-West in a gardening context, and Richardson certainly emphasizes the personal love and touches that went in to Sissinghurst and makes it so endearing.

The retail price (£30) seems quite steep, but I can see older readers or enthusiasts paying up without much issue. It is essentially a coffee table or design book, to be pored over and admired, rather than a manual or historical paperback, so I suppose the price reflects this.

A gorgeous coffee book filled with beautiful color photos and illustrations of the world’s most famous garden I never have heard about. Still, I would like to visit this one day. What a great book of art and for reference book. Loved it!