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The Garden House (Devon, England)

The destinations are beginning to blur but looking at the tour guide booklet, I see that we are now in Plymouth. Today, we visited two gardens designed by Keith Wiley.  The first is The Garden House , where Wiley worked as Head Gardener for 25 years (from 1978-2003). The 10-acre estate was purchased in the 1940s by former Eton schoolmaster Lionel Fortescue and his wife Katherine. It was formerly home to the  vicars of Buckland Monachronum. The Fortescue's renovated the gardens and ran a market garden business and raised cattle.  The remains of some of the original buildings in the vicarage still stand in the garden and serve as a romantic backdrop in the Walled Garden - I loved the way they had massed ferns together. Just stunning! Surrounding the walled garden and venturing out away from the house are more naturalistic plantings  - Today, the head gardener is Nick Haworth, who was previously head gardener at Greenway , which we visited earlier.  Keith Wiley lef...
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Last blooms


The growing season is drawing to a close here in north Alabama. The temperatures have been dipping near the freezing mark all week and a frost is sure to come this week. Yesterday seemed like a January or February day with dark skies, wind and rain. Heavy black clouds made me think that it could snow.

Today though was sunny but cold. We took advantage of the day to get the leaves up (we are amazed at how many there are), put away the fountain pumps and disconnect the urn fountain. A few flowers and bright autumn colors are still lingering -

A shasta daisy (above) still looks fresh, oblivious of the cold weather.

Hydrange blooms can take on interesting hues in cooler temperatures. This is "Charm" and "Blushing Bride" -




The leaves of the oakleaf hydrangea are always spectacular in the fall months -



The Japanese maples are still beautiful. I don't know the name of this one. It is only about two feet tall.



This aster, named for garden designer Ryan Gainey, wasn't as pretty as it usually it this year. The color was all washed out and the blooms were somewhat puny.



There are other flowers, like roses, salvia and camellias that are blooming but I didn't have time to photograph them but most of those were featured in last month's bloom day post.
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  1. AnonymousNovember 17, 2008 at 3:39 AM

    The Japanese magnolia is stunning. We, too, have been having cooler than normal temperatures but no freezing yet. Just like your aster, I have had a few plants that did not do as well as in years past. I think it was the drought.

    Jan
    Always Growng

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  2. Sweet Home and Garden CarolinaNovember 17, 2008 at 3:53 AM

    I love the color of the Oakleaf hydrangeas in the Fall. That Japanese maple looks like 'Crimson Queen' to me because of the intensity of the red color.

    We've not had a hard freeze yet either but we did have some snow showers yesterday.

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  3. Lisa at GreenbowNovember 17, 2008 at 4:11 AM

    Isn't it amazing how the Japanese Maple leaves are usually the last to come down. They are such tough little characters and so beautiful.

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  4. Roses and LilacsNovember 17, 2008 at 5:47 AM

    I remember northern Alabama's wonderful, long autumns. Enjoyed seeing your photos.
    Marnie

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  5. F CameronNovember 17, 2008 at 6:35 AM

    I love hydgrangeas so much and miss growing them here in deer country. Your photos are just stunning, so I thank you for sharing.

    Winter is coming, isn't it?

    Cameron

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  6. tinaNovember 17, 2008 at 6:47 AM

    Phillip, Is that shasta a 'Darling' cultivar? I am wondering because mine has been blooming non stop since I got it this summer. The others are not blooming. Those asters are special.

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  7. Phillip OliverNovember 17, 2008 at 7:17 AM

    Carolyn, thanks for giving me that name. I will look it up and compare.

    Tina, I'm not sure what cultivar the shasta daisy is. They seem to blooming better now that they did during the summer.

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  8. RandyNovember 17, 2008 at 7:26 AM

    Phillip,
    Wonderful pictures, as usual. I love the hydrangeas.-Randy

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  9. CosmoNovember 17, 2008 at 8:02 AM

    Hey, Phillip--Beautiful pictures as always. You're lucky to have hydrangeas still in bloom, though you're right about the oakleaf--it's as lovely in the fall as it is in the summer. We had our first frost last night--very light, but the morning landscape is starting to look wintry.

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  10. AnonymousNovember 17, 2008 at 8:35 AM

    Hi Phillip, what a fabulous shot of the daisy, love it! And blushing bride is so delightful, must look for that one. I know the leaves are a big job to pick up, but they break down into the most wonderful stuff for the gardens. Good exercise too. :-) Love the maple.
    Frances

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  11. ConsciousGardenerNovember 17, 2008 at 9:11 AM

    First visit to Dirt Therapy! Beautiful blog, made me wish for
    rain...everything seemed so rich and saturated with color.

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  12. Phillip OliverNovember 17, 2008 at 1:08 PM

    Thanks for visiting - do come again!

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  13. Philip BewleyNovember 17, 2008 at 2:01 PM

    Hi!
    The oakleaf hydrangea looks beautiful, as do all shown in your photos.
    Regards,
    Philip

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  14. GailNovember 17, 2008 at 3:09 PM

    Lovely Phillip! The Japanese maple must make quite a statement at under 2 foot tall! I love the dissected leaves. It is always a joy to have blooms this late but when the cold hits it is even more shocking! Enjoy them...we can't hold the cold back much longer!

    Gail

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