Shopping at Sissinghurst Castle Garden

Literary legacy at Sissinghurst

Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson were both well-known and respected authors and a wealth of well-loved authors have, at one time or another, called Sissinghurst home. They have shared their own thoughts in different publications throughout the years and lots of these can be found in the shop.

'Sissinghurst The Dream Garden’ by Tim Richardson

In the most up-to-date book currently available about this iconic garden, Tim Richardson takes the reader on a tour, offering a comprehensive guide and exploring its design, planting and history. Detailed plans pinpoint the locations of individual roses in both the Rose Garden and the White Garden, and there's a chapter on the newly restored Delos Garden created by Dan Pearson.

Tim also explains for the first time how literature and specifically Vita’s intimate friendship with Virginia Woolf influenced the creation of the garden’s unique atmosphere. This is a once-in-a-generation exploration of a magnificent, iconic garden – its history, its meaning and its relevance to visitors and gardeners today.

The plant shop

To take home a living piece of Sissinghurst Castle Garden, be sure to stop by the plant shop when you visit. Abundant planting has always been at the heart of the garden here. Vita was passionate about colour, flowers and romantic planting in every ‘nook and cranny’.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden is very fortunate to have its own plant nursery on site. The nursery plays an integral role in supporting the planting in the garden and grows upward of 15,000 plants for sale in the plant shop.

The plant shop offers a range of perennials, bulbs, roses and shrubs beautifully displayed for you to browse and enjoy all year round. You can also find a wide range of tools, accessories and garden decorations. And if you like to propagate your own plants, there's an extensive range of Sarah Raven and Jekka herb seeds.

Not forgetting the keen vegetable growers who have been inspired by the Sissinghurst vegetable plot, there are seasonal veg plants for sale throughout the year, grown from seed by the veg team and picked daily.

To plant your purchases when you get home, there’s also wide range of Apta Terracotta pots for sale, starting at 23cm and going up in size to 51cm. A herb planter and two sizes of rhubarb forcers accompany this range. There is also a blue-glazed range from Mims and a grey- and green-glazed range of RHS containers. Don’t forget to pick up your pot feet as well to aid drainage.

The second-hand bookshop

The second-hand bookshop at Sissinghurst is a hidden gem. Situated in The Old Dairy along with the coffee shop and plant shop, you can browse the books while enjoying a cup of tea. During the winter months the log burner helps to add to the atmosphere.

There's a wide range of second-hand books; from gardening to cookery; art to sport; crime fiction and classic literature plus all your favourite authors. We also have plenty of children's books for families to enjoy.

The bookshop is supervised by a fantastic team of volunteers and all the proceeds from the sale of books goes towards the funding of conservation projects here at Sissinghurst.

All the books we sell have been generously donated by visitors, volunteers, staff and friends of Sissinghurst. We'd like to thank everyone for their generosity and we're always happy to accept more, so if you have some books that you'd like to pass on, please let us know.

Thank you

It is through your purchases and support that we are able to continue to care for nature, beauty and history for everyone, for ever.