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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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Cutting back the ornamental grasses

I took advantage of the nice weather on Saturday to cut back my ornamental grasses. The grasses add interest to the winter landscape but it is good to trim them back before the new growth begins in the spring. I just use hedgetrimmers to whack them back.









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  1. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2009 at 6:25 PM

    Wasn't it an awesome day to live in zone 7? I am always thankful for a 70 degree day in February. BTW, looks like all my rose cuttings are doing well...success!

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2009 at 6:45 PM

    Thanks for the reminder, Phillip. I need to go out and cut my grasses back now before they start sprouting with all this warm weather.

    Jan
    Always Growing

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  3. Debra HowardFebruary 9, 2009 at 9:18 PM

    What an awesome day here too. Oh man, I should have got outside & cut my grasses back too. What a great idea! It doesn't usually hit me till I see some growth & it makes such a difference if you get it cut back early.
    Debbie

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  4. LesFebruary 10, 2009 at 2:21 AM

    I always find cutting back the grasses perfect therapy for winter induced cabin fever. It is like saying "OK spring I am ready for you now.

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  5. Lisa at GreenbowFebruary 10, 2009 at 3:46 AM

    We are just a couple of weeks behind you in weather up here. This chore is on my list though. Isn't it amazing how this makes the garden seem more spring-like?

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  6. F CameronFebruary 10, 2009 at 5:39 AM

    Phillips -- I started cutting yesterday and gave out from working on 11 buddleia. I have 9 more buddleia to do, then cut back the grasses.

    Cameron

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  7. DaveFebruary 10, 2009 at 6:00 AM

    Great weather for it! I need to do the same. It's time to get ready spring is on the horizon.

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  8. SusanFebruary 10, 2009 at 7:07 AM

    I need to do that, too. The weather has been so lovely that I can't drag myself inside, plus there is plenty to do outside.

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  9. JanFebruary 10, 2009 at 8:54 AM

    Whack, Whack...and then, suddenly- it looks so bland:(
    But soon...there it is, right back again, beautiful as ever;)

    We clipped and whacked up here, too, this wkend. I chopped down my buddleia (it looks horrible now) and cut back my carpet roses. Those don't 'need' to be cut back, but the spaces I have for them all is limited. They come back nicely in the summer so I think things will be ok. My husband 'whacked' back the crepe myrtles too...they don't need it either, but there is a limit to the heighth that we can tolerate here. Have a wonderful day:)

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  10. GailFebruary 10, 2009 at 9:43 AM

    Hi Phillip! The weather has been delightful and we've all headed outside to play or clean! I was thinking a garden vacuum would help with the stray pieces of grass that blow everywhere! Your post on Daphnes encouraged me to get a small plant that HD was selling. it smells luscious! gail

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  11. Monica the Garden FaerieFebruary 15, 2009 at 8:47 AM

    I use electric hedge trimmers to prune back grasses, but it's still too early for that here. I just like power tools!

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