It was a great honour to be invited to collaborate with Sissinghurst on an evolving botanical installation this winter. Sited at the entrance gate and under Vita Sackville-West’s writing tower, the design will morph and shift over four months, from November through to the end of February, to reflect the atmosphere and seasonal changes in the garden beyond.
For the first phase of the installation we envisaged welcoming guests to the garden with a generous gesture - a sculptural display of autumnal branches, entangled with the spindling whips of rambling roses studded with hips in a collection of antique garden urns. Wherever possible we wanted to utilise materials due for pruning or those dried and stockpiled by the gardeners throughout the summer. The idea is that this display will gently soften and tire as the garden begins its slow collapse and autumn draws to a close over the coming weeks.
In early December we will evolve the design to celebrate the beginning of winter with fresh, fragrant evergreens and intricate seed heads harvested and carefully dried indoors by the garden team.
Special thanks to Saffron, John, Jo and Molly for working with us to bring this special project to life. We hope you can come and visit!
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Music in this video
Title: Nocturne in E-Flat Major (Chopin)
Album: Classical Piano Favourites by Brooklyn Classical