Creating the Garden
When Lloyd moved home in 1954 as an adult after studying horticulture, he and his mother worked on the grounds. “He never married,” she says. “His life was his garden and his friends, whom he welcomed generously.”
But he didn’t lead a solitary life amid the borders, yews, and hedges. He entertained often at Great Dixter, corresponded with other passionate gardeners and fellow foodies, and had two constant companions -- dachshunds named Canna and Dahlia. He spent the last part of his life raising money for a charitable trust to keep the garden in private hands. Now, the head gardener with whom Lloyd worked for years, Fergus Garrett, carries on the master gardener’s vision.
Inspiration From England
When Zahl returned to the South after those early visits, she remembered the vivid colors at Great Dixter. “I realized that
our light was very different from England’s,” she says. “I was encouraged by the fact that Lloyd wasn’t afraid to use color.”
His other against-the-grain choices also emboldened her. “He knew what would do well where. He gardened in alkaline soil, which is very limiting. But he didn’t fight it,” she says. Somehow, he made bold decisions that worked within the architectural structure Lutyens had established and within nature’s limitations. “For instance,” Zahl explains, “when a lavender hedge failed because the soil wasn’t right, he took it out, but he didn’t change the lines. Instead, he put in a kind of aster already growing on the property, though it was not generally used as a hedge before. His enormous intelligence is overwhelming, but not so overwhelming that the average visitor can’t appreciate or understand it.”
LESSONS LEARNED
When to go: Great Dixter remains open to the public this year through October 26. For more information, call 011-44-179-725-2878, or visit www.greatdixter.co.uk.
Where to stay: Zahl recommends Gravetye Manor (011-44-134-281-0567, www.gravetyemanor.co.uk), a Relais & Châteaux property in East Grinstead, within an hour of Great Dixter. She also suggests staying at a bed-and-breakfast in Cranbrook, near Great Dixter and another famous garden, Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent. Visit www.cranbrookuk.co.uk for a selection of top-rated bed-and-breakfasts in Cranbrook.
What’s on the agenda: Wherever you stay, Zahl recommends touring Sissinghurst (011-44-158-071-0701, www.nationaltrust.org.uk) just as it opens, before the crowds descend, and then heading to Great Dixter.
RESOURCES: Mary Zahl, Mary Zahl Garden Design, 301/718-1942.
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