A visit to Great Dixter, August 2026

The weather was forecast to be wet and possibly stormy, so we travelled with raincoats and umbrellas and extra layers of clothes. As it turned out, the weather was hot and sunny – a perfect day for garden visiting.

Unlike some other gardens, including many of our own, Dixter was full of colour and a profusion of planting. Nathaniel Lloyd and Edwin Lutyens had had the foresight to install a reservoir when the gardens were first built and this has served them well. The gardening team have focussed watering on new planting and stressed areas, which has clearly been a successful strategy. The intensively gardened areas like the Long Border have been watered end to end four times since January and the effects of this can be seen in the photos below.

Pot displays fill corners of the garden. This year there seemed to be more Pelargoniums, including P. ‘Scarlet Pet’ and P. ‘Angel Eyes Orange’.

As usual you are greeted at the front of the house by another perfect pot display and the front border is filled with the colour created by Zinnias.

While many of the phlox in our own gardens have suffered, Dixter notes that Phlox ‘Princess Sturdza’ has thrived in both sunny and shady positions. This might be a worthy addition to our own borders for those of us who love Phlox!

Both Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Double Click Bon Bon’ and C. ‘Cranberry’ provide pops of colour in many places in the garden, while the dazzle of a cerise Sweet William in the Sunk Garden could probably be seen from outer space!

Vija V