A CLASSICAL REVIVAL

In 1932, a visit to the Greek island of Delos, where asphodel grows wild among the ancient ruins, inspired Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson to try to create something similar in their own garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent. Unsurprisingly, given the English climate, it never quite lived up to their dreams and evolved into a beautiful, but distinctly unclassical, woodland garden. Until now. Redesigned by Dan Pearson to capture their original intent, the transformation is extraordinary. Where once there were magnolias, peonies and anemones, now there is a gravel garden, dotted with marble antiquities, a pomegranate tree and more than 6,000 plants, including thymes, lavenders, artemisia and, yes, asphodels. For maximum effect, try to visit on a sunny day (nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst-castle-garden).