Troy Scott Smith
Sissinghurst – A Garden, in a Ruin, in a Farm: Unlocking the Sense of Place
Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 3 p.m.
Presented in partnership with The Garden Club of Palm Beach
$20 ■ No charge for Four Arts members
Dixon Education Building
Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 3 p.m.
Presented in partnership with The Garden Club of Palm Beach
$20 ■ No charge for Four Arts members
Dixon Education Building
Sissinghurst, created by writers Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson in the 1930s, and now owned by the National Trust, is held dear in the hearts of millions of garden aficionados as the quintessential model of a romantic 20th-century English country garden. Troy Scott Smith, who first encountered Sissinghurst 33 years ago when he worked there for five years as a gardener, arrived back at Sissinghurst as Head Gardener in April 2013 with the ambitious mission of conserving this world-renowned garden in the manner of these noteworthy creators, long after their death. Before starting Smith studied the distinctiveness of Sissinghurst as well as Sackville-West and Nicolson’s characters; not only their gardening style, but their philosophy, taste, motives, interests, constraints and ideas. Smith will talk about his work at Sissinghurst and his hope to bring about a celebration of everything that is good about Sissinghurst: Rich, lavish, generous, fragrant, optimistic and romantic to the extreme.