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In the gardens of Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent – where flowers and fashion unite Sissinghurst Castle Garden, in Kent, England. Photo: Getty Images
I first visited Sissinghurst on one of those spring mornings when the sky over England is filled with scudding clouds and the women wear optimistically light dresses that provide little protection from the sharp breeze. It was days after I had finished a tour of Wadi Rum, and the contrast between the pulsating heat of the Jordanian desert and this damp, exuberant greenery felt delightful.
Sissinghurst embodies everything we want an English garden to be. A mixture of wild, overgrown abandon and meticulous planning, it is lovely to look at but also wonderfully evocative of a past era. Its walled white garden, which bursts into bloom each spring with nearly every white flower native to Britain, attracts visitors from around the globe, drawn to its powerful scent as much as to its prettiness.