Great Dixter House & Gardens
Dixter Road, Northiam, Rye, East Sussex, TN31 6PH
Christopher Lloyd's famous East Sussex garden around a medieval house restored by Lutyens, known for its Long Border, topiary, meadows and bold, experimental planting.
Visit information checked 22 October 2026
Garden UK guide
Why visit Great Dixter House & Gardens?
Great Dixter is a garden for people who love plants and want to be surprised by them. It was home to the gardener and writer Christopher Lloyd, who made it famous through more than 40 years of books and articles, and it is still run in his spirit: vibrant, daring and highly managed, with a long season. The house, a 15th-century hall house restored and extended by Edwin Lutyens, sits at the centre, its tiled roofs rising above the planting.
The garden is in the Arts and Crafts style, divided by hedges and walls into spaces with very different moods. The Long Border is the best known, packed with shrubs, perennials, annuals and climbers mixed in daring combinations. Elsewhere there is clipped topiary, an orchard, wildflower meadows that come right up to the house, the Exotic Garden and a vegetable garden that supplies the café. The planting is profuse yet structured, and it changes from year to year as the team tries new ideas. Look out for the three 18th-century oast houses and the 15th-century barn.
Bring a notebook, because Dixter is full of combinations worth copying, and the nursery, which Lloyd started in 1954, sells plants grown from the garden and is open all year. The garden has been peat free since 2007 and puts biodiversity at the centre of its work. Paths are narrow and a mix of gravel and earth, so pushchairs and wheelchairs can find parts difficult, and only guide dogs are allowed in the garden.
What to see
- The Long Border, Christopher Lloyd's famous mixed planting of shrubs, perennials and annuals.
- Clipped topiary and Arts and Crafts garden rooms around the Lutyens-restored house.
- Wildflower meadows and the orchard close to the house.
- The Exotic Garden, with bold foliage and late-season colour.
- The nursery, started by Lloyd in 1954, selling plants grown from the garden.
- Three 18th-century oast houses and a 15th-century barn.
Great Dixter House & Gardens through the year
- spring
- Bulbs light up the meadows and orchard, and the borders build quickly as the season opens.
- summer
- The Long Border is at full stretch, with daring colour combinations at their peak.
- autumn
- The Exotic Garden and late perennials keep the colour going until the garden closes at the end of October.
- winter
- The house and garden are closed in winter, though the nursery stays open; check the official website for season dates.
The story behind the garden
The original Dixter, a mid-15th-century house in Northiam, was bought by the businessman Nathaniel Lloyd in 1909. He had a 16th-century yeoman's house moved from Benenden in Kent, and Edwin Lutyens combined the two with new work between 1910 and 1912, renaming the whole Great Dixter. Lloyd and Lutyens began the garden together.
It was Nathaniel's son, Christopher Lloyd, who made it famous. A writer and broadcaster, he gardened here for decades, opening the nursery in 1954 and experimenting boldly with colour, form and combination. Fergus Garrett worked closely with him as head gardener until Lloyd's death in 2006 and has gone on to introduce new ideas. Lloyd set up the Great Dixter Charitable Trust to protect the property, and education is now at the heart of its work, with scholarships, student placements, study days and symposia. The garden holds the top grade on the national register of historic gardens.
Plan your visit
- Best for
- Keen gardeners and plant lovers looking for bold planting ideas and a well-stocked specialist nursery.
- Getting there
- Great Dixter is in the village of Northiam in the Sussex Weald, about 9 miles from Rye and 12 miles from Hastings, roughly three quarters of a mile off the A28.
- Before you go
- Tickets are sold on arrival with no pre-booking, and picnics are only allowed in the car parks. Check the Great Dixter website for current opening times and tickets.
Questions about visiting Great Dixter House & Gardens
Can you take dogs to Great Dixter?
No. Apart from guide dogs, no dogs are allowed in the garden at Great Dixter. If you bring a dog for the journey, it must be kept on a lead in the car park.
Do you need to book tickets for Great Dixter?
No. Day tickets are sold on arrival and there is no pre-booking for a normal visit. Check the official website for current prices and for any special events that need booking.
Who made the garden at Great Dixter?
Nathaniel Lloyd and the architect Edwin Lutyens began the garden, but it was Christopher Lloyd, Nathaniel's son and a well-known garden writer, who made it famous. Fergus Garrett, his head gardener, continues the work today.
Is the Great Dixter nursery open all year?
Yes. The nursery, started by Christopher Lloyd in 1954, is open all year, although its hours are shorter in winter when the house and garden are closed. It sells plants and seeds from the garden.
Is Great Dixter suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs?
Partly. There is step-free access to most of the garden, but paths are narrow and made of gravel and earth, which can be hard going. The garden suggests baby carriers rather than pushchairs for young children.
Garden features
Location
Dixter Road, Northiam, Rye, East Sussex, TN31 6PH
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