The Stephen Sisters

After visiting the dynamic and stimulating gardens at Sissinghurst and Great Dixter a day ambling on the grounds of Scotney Castle was a pleasant diversion. The white wisteria dripping off the old castle ruins, the masses of azaleas and rhododendrons, and an unexpected encounter with a Davidia involucrata, the handkerchief tree, made for an enjoyable afternoon. Plus, while walking towards the thatched icehouse we met a small boy looking for hedgehogs which he claimed he couldn’t find because they were off drinking.

Today we headed out to see the homes and gardens of the Stephen sisters, Vanessa Bell at Charleston Farmhouse and Virginia Woolf at Monk’s House.

Charleston Farmhouse was the country base of the Bloomsbury loosely tied group of artists, writers, thinkers, and lovers; an incestuous bunch of aesthetes who created an enclave of beauty. The house is an extended artwork of painted walls and doors and sculpture and ceramics and textiles. Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant were the main residents with her three children, one of whom Duncan fathered. A tour of the house is followed by exiting a door that opens to a walled garden with the sensibilities of the house, a joyful exuberant charm. Pastel Shirley poppies were the stars of this June garden, with peonies and alliums and irises, and the magenta Gladiolus communis subspecies. Byzantnum , which is native to Mediterranean regions, adding more cool color. Massive lime green Euphorbias and towering Angelicas added some contrasting form and texture. The vegetable beds made it all feel homey.

The whole experience, the house and garden, captured a sense of their lives filled with art and beauty.

Seven miles away over the Downs lived Virginia and Leonard Woolf at Monk’s House in Rodmell. The Woolfs, or Woolves, as they were affectionately called were more artistic with their words than with visual flair. The house is charming and the garden fine, but one is left with a sense of a utilitarian space without the flourishes of visual creators. But, again, a homey feeling and a dedication to art and intellect pervade the spaces. Virginia’s writing room, separate from the house, holds a particular sense of purpose. The pastoral setting with a stone church as a neighbor and a field of buttercups and black and white cows over the fence makes the visit relaxing.

Visiting the two homes in the same day heightened the effect of both. The communal aspect of the Charleston Bloomsburys lingers in their space and Virginia’s solo pursuit of the perfection of language colors Monk’s House. The two sisters, and their contemporaries, left a lasting effect on the landscape of southeast England. We ended the day by wandering down the road to the local pub for a meal and celebration of beauty.

.