Homage to a great gardener

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Christopher Lloyd always felt he had lived his life back to front. He spent his youth with the elderly, and his old age with the young. Living in reverse meant he saved his most flamboyant and uninhibited gardening for last.

Lloyd’s name will forever be linked with Great Dixter – the Lutyens-designed house and garden in Sussex where he was born, worked and lived to the end of his life. It was his great passion and the laboratory for his many gardening experiments and observations.

In a programme called Gardener Provocateur to be screened on BBC 2 on Friday 15 December at 9pm, Christopher Lloyd’s friend Alan Titchmarsh explores the formative influence of his talented and strong-minded parents; the creation of the Edwardian house that would become the centre of his world; and the development of a shy boy who always felt a misfit into a grand old man of gardening, liberated by his literary talent and plantsmanship.

As a guest at Dixter, Alan Titchmarsh enjoyed Lloyd’s legendary hospitality – the delicious meals Lloyd taught himself to cook, trips to Glyndebourne opera and conversation about literature, music and gardening of course. Lively weekend parties fed Lloyd’s hungry intellect, fuelled his imagination and kept him young at heart.

Although Lloyd accepted that the garden was only his for his lifetime, he wanted his philosophy of invigorating gardening to continue at Great Dixter. He knew his legacy was safe in the hands of his friend and talented head gardener Fergus Garret, but the future of the house and garden itself rests on the ability of the Secure Great Dixter Campaign to raise £3-million to save the house from sale.

Alan believes Great Dixter, which includes a super kitchen garden, still lovingly tended to by ‘Christo’s’ vegetable gardener William Hurton, is a cause worth fighting for. “Christo was adamant that he didn’t want Dixter to become a shrine or a museum piece. And in Fergus’s hands, the flame of originality and excitement that Christo lit is still burning bright. I hope with all my heart that the fight to save Dixter succeeds,” Alan told KG.

For more information about the Great Dixter Charitable Trust, contact the administration team on 01797 252878, [email protected]

Do you have any memories of this enigmatic gardener, or of the fabulous gardens at Dixter?
frog
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Thanks for telling us about this programme. I visited Dixter earlier this year and was so overwhelmed by the garden and the vision. My trip was initially to Sissinghurst but we decided to stop in at Dixter on our journey home and i am so glad we did. The garden is crammed to the gills with stunning plant combinations and the colour (in june) was a riot. the kitchen garden is fabulous and the informality of it makes it seem acheivable in a normal setting too. its not a huge garden but the amount of planting is staggering and each corner you turn leads you into a new breathtaking experience. i cannot reccomend it highly enough. the path leading up to the entrance of the house is so enchanting and when we went the wildflower lawn was in full glory. the fig tree growing on the side of lutchyens barn is fabulous and the way way the hard landscaping is dressed with pots and containers is a delight. the nursery is to die for and will empty your wallet and ...i could go on for ever. go there if you can - its a heavenly garden. christopher lloyd was one of lifes great characters - not bound by convention or fashion. a total inspiration. i will be looking out for this programme for sure. this is my first post btw. hi everyone :shock:
Alison
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His Well-Tempered Garden is one of the best books ever written, and his later stuff never approached the standard of that one, IMHO. He makes you chuckle out loud. I adore old roses, and loved his delightfully crafted remark, on the following lines:
"I wondered whether Graham Thomas would have mentioned this <effect of pollination on petal colour>. Of course, it was in another volume. You have to have all three of his rose books, as the basic laws of cussedness dictate that you will never have two consecutive impulses that can be satisfied within the same volume."
Very elegant (and very true)!
A friend of mine (a good knowledgable gardener, specialising in herbaceous) said she visited Great Dixter and he was very rude to her when she asked him a question!
I'm longing to go to see the garden - it's on my "One Day I Will Do This" list. I shall look forward to the programme (assuming we get it in Wales, since they tend to replace gardening programmes with rugby grrrr)
Alison.
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Tigger
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Thankyou for that Mr PH. I had it on my list of things to remind people about, so can mark that as done now. The article AT wrote about the great man in another well known magazine was well worth reading so I'm looking forward to the programme.

I've got all of Chrostopher Lloyd's books and they're such a joy to read.
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Tigger
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You might already know this but I believe the programme about Christopher Lloyd has been rescheduled and is now due to be broadcast on December 22nd at 8pm.

The BBC seems to be moving things about rather regularly this year - the new Monty Don programme has also been rescheduled at least once.
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LynneA
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Watched the programme last night, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Reflected his charm and character perfectly. I've never been able to think of the Dahlia Dark Stranger since he mentioned in a column that he once misread it as Park Strangler. Also always liked his comment that too many labels made a garden look like a graveyard.

Think I'll add yet another Celandine Brazen Hussey to my winter alpine pots in his honour.

We visited Great Dixter in the late Summer of 2001. Towards the end of our walk, we were in the Sunken Garden, admiring the fan-trained fig. Someone crept up behind us and said "What do you think?"

I said we'd had a great day, and we were admiring the work that went into getting the tree into form. He said "Good, good" and shuffled back to the house, Dachshunds in tow.
My old boss once said - Tomorrow, we are going to get organised. That was 20 years ago...

My little blog:
http://UK.360.yahoo.com/ourlitleblueshed
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Tigger
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Wasn't it a great programme? I hope the BBC is very happy with itself.
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