100 GARDENING
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Towering tall & restored to glory
Restoration at Sissinghurst Castle’s historic tower nearing completion, and as spring approaches
©NTPL/Jonathan Buckley
now’s the time to get out into the garden with our jobs to do and handy hints
Caroline Knight © Hever Castle & Gardens
4 things to do IN THE GARDEN this month
1. Spring is on the way! If the ground isn’t frozen, you can cultivate your seedbeds. Cover them with fl eece or polythene to help warm up the soil. 2. Valentine’s Day is traditionally the time that birds fi nd their mates and they will soon need nest boxes. Clean yours out or put up new ones ready for the brood. 3. Look out for emerging snowdrops – they are a beautiful sight not to be missed. (See our news pages for details of the Snowdrop Walk at Hever Castle & Gardens.) 4. Late summer-fl owering clematis can be pruned down to a height of around 30cm-40cm this month. They fl ower on new growth.
O
ne of the garden landmarks at Kent’s historic Sissinghurst Castle is the
iconic Elizabethan
tower, which is almost 500 years old. With close to 200,000 visitors per year, the number of feet climbing the 78 steps of its wooden spiral staircase to the roof has taken its toll – and this is why the tower will remain encased with 39 tonnes of scaffolding until the early spring, when a six- month conservation project to repair, conserve and protect it for future generations to enjoy, is completed. Work started back in October and a dedicated team of experts has spent the winter months conserving the masonry, repairing the weather vanes, re-leading the windows and reinstating the fl agpole.
The work involved packing up poet and writer Vita Sackville-West’s writing room and removing the entire contents of the fi rst fl oor. It included 2,700 books, large paintings, reams of writing paper and items that Vita left in situ on her
desk on her death in 1962. Many of these treasured items are now on display for the fi rst time in the newly-opened Gate House. With its far reaching views across
the Wealden landscape, the tower at Sissinghurst has seen many changes since it was built in the 1570s, sitting proudly in the middle of the garden that Vita and her diplomat and author husband Harold Nicolson created together in Cranbrook. During the on-going renovation
there have been new discoveries including graffi ti under the parapet’s oak shingles, which was left by French prisoners of war in the 1760s – the tower served as a prison for French naval offi cers during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), was used as a look out post during World War Two, as well as becoming the private sanctuary and writing room for Vita, who was drawn to the ruins and tower when purchasing Sissinghurst in 1930. • The newly-renovated tower is due to be completed during February, ready for the new season. For more information, visit
www.nationaltrust.
org.uk/sissinghurst-castle-garden
©NTPL/Jonathan Buckley
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