Skip to content

The Sissinghurst Series

The 2025 Sissinghurst Series line up at Sissinghurst Castle Garden
The 2025 Sissinghurst Series line up at Sissinghurst Castle Garden | © © National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart, Tom Stuart Smith, Arthur Parkinson, James Osmond, Rachel Warne, Christa Holka

Join a range of horticultural experts for curated talks as part of The Sissinghurst Series.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden proudly hosts the return of The Sissinghurst Series, now in its fourth year, with a range of garden experts speaking on topical issues in the gardening world today.

In previous years, we have hosted speakers such as Charles Dowding, Arit Anderson, Nick Bailey,and Tom Massey with focuses on climate action and sensory experiences.

This year, we hone in on Cultivating Beauty: The Evolution of the English Garden and invite audiences to explore how our understanding and expression of beauty in the garden continues to evolve.

Speaking this year at Sissinghurst are activist, gardener and National Trust ambassador Tayshan Hayden-Smith, respected landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith, gardener and floral artist Arthur Parkinson, renowned plantswoman Derry Watkins, leading garden designer Jo Thompson, and acclaimed landscape designer Charlotte Harris.

The full line up

Tayshan Hayden-Smith
Tayshan Hayden-Smith | © National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart
Tayshan Hayden-Smith: 'Closing the Green Gap'
Following the launch of Grow to Know's new campaign Closing the Green Gap, Tayshan interrogates the historical divide between public and private space in the context of British garden culture | 12 September | 3pm - 4pm | £25 - Limited AvailabilityTickets
Tom Stuart Smith
Tom Stuart Smith | © Tom Stuart Smith
Tom Stuart-Smith: 'Finding a language: One garden designer’s journey'
A special opportunity to hear directly from a designer whose thoughtful and layered approach continues to redefine what gardens can be | 15 September | 2pm - 3pm | £25 - Low AvailabilityTickets
Arthur Parkinson
Arthur Parkinson | © Arthur Parkinson
Arthur Parkinson - SOLD OUT
Gardener, author, and floral artist Arthur Parkinson shares his evocative approach to flowers and gardens in a richly visual talk that celebrates the freedom, beauty, and emotional power of nature | 26 September | 3pm - 4pm | £25Tickets
Plantswoman Derry Watkins
Derry Watkins | © James Osmond
Derry Watkins: 'Late Summer Colour'
Renowned plantswoman Derry Watkins explores the rich potential of August and September planting and long-lasting displays | 28 September | 2pm - 3pm | £25 - Low AvailabilityTickets
Jo Thompson
Jo Thompson | © Rachel Warne
Jo Thompson: 'Beauty and Romanticism in the English Garden'
Explore how colour, texture, and structure combine to create atmosphere and year-round beauty even in the smallest space | 29 September | 2pm - 3pm | £25 - Low AvailabilityTickets
Charlotte Harris
Charlotte Harris | © Christa Holka
Charlotte Harris
A fantastic opportunity to hear from a designer whose gardens are shaped not only by beauty, but by care, courage, and connection | 3 October | 2pm - 3pm | £25 - Limited AvailabilityTickets

The garden at Sissinghurst Castle Garden 

Explore the garden at Sissinghurst this season, with wisteria, irises, and roses, and discover why it ranks among the most famous gardens in England.

Garden views from the Tower at Sissinghurst