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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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Patience sometimes required


I thought this dwarf crape myrtle would never bloom! It was planted three years ago and the foliage has been absolutely beautiful but nary a bloom in sight. A friend told me that I should talk to my plants. "You don't believe it but it works," he said. One day I was weeding around it and I happened to remember what he said so I whispered to it "If you don't bloom this year, you are outta here". Good heavens, it worked!

I took a full shot of it but my garden is so weedy that I'm embarrassed to show it. This is the first dwarf variety I've grown and I really like them (that is, now that it intends to bloom). It is only about 18 inches tall and about 24 inches wide. The variety is "Pocomoke".
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  1. CarolAugust 21, 2009 at 12:22 AM

    Lovely! Philip...Chuckle, Chuckle to your giving it final notice. I am sure it had planned all along to please you.

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  2. CarolAugust 21, 2009 at 12:23 AM

    OOPS! It it too early to up... sorry about the misspell of your name!

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  3. LesAugust 21, 2009 at 3:33 AM

    I have found that when plants are reluctant to bloom, you can also insert a shovel near its root ball or lean an axe against its trunk. Leave them there for a time allowing the plant to ponder its fate.

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  4. C. C.August 21, 2009 at 4:11 AM

    Love the shovel/axe suggestion. :)

    I've been waiting for more than 10 years for a climbing hydrangea to bloom. At this point it might as well be English ivy, and it will get the same fate in the next year or two if it doesn't produce some flowers.

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  5. Lisa at GreenbowAugust 21, 2009 at 4:51 AM

    I think it was worth waiting for. It has a pretty bloom. You must thank it now for blooming. It will appreciate some praise for all its hard work.

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  6. Dave@The Home GardenAugust 21, 2009 at 4:52 AM

    I wonder if I should say the same to our crape myrtles! It would be an empty threat since I like them as a privacy screen even without the flowers.

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  7. Southern AspirationsAugust 21, 2009 at 4:55 AM

    I should try this with hydrangeas planted last year... looks great! I'm considering planting the dwarf variety to replace/enhance some of my encore azaleas...

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  8. RandyAugust 21, 2009 at 5:10 AM

    Phillip,
    I really like those dwarfs too, yours is really pretty. Unfortunately, our room is becoming very limited. So I don't know where we would put them. :-(--Randy
    PS- Was it a Jamie that told you to talk to them? LOL

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  9. Roses and LilacsAugust 21, 2009 at 5:29 AM

    It's a lovely plant, Philip. I have nothing in that color to choose from up here.

    I'm imagining you out in the garden having long conversations with the blooming plants;)
    Marnie

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  10. Phillip OliverAugust 21, 2009 at 5:34 AM

    That's okay Carol!

    Les, I love that idea. That is very funny.

    C.C., I have tried to grow cl. hydrangea at least three times and I've never had luck with it. It always dies on me.

    Lisa, I should probably tell it thank you.

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  11. Phillip OliverAugust 21, 2009 at 5:36 AM

    Dave, usually lack of flowers doesn't bother me unless they are in a place where it is needed.

    S.A., that is a good idea because you would have spots of color when the azaleas are not blooming.

    Randy, it was indeed Jamie!

    Marnie, trust me, I don't have long conversations with the plants.

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  12. sweetbayAugust 21, 2009 at 7:38 AM

    Hmmm, so threats work... LOL I'll have to try that.

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  13. sweetbayAugust 21, 2009 at 7:39 AM

    PS I also like Les' idea.

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  14. Rob (ourfrenchgarden)August 21, 2009 at 8:38 AM

    Fait accompli

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  15. Rob (ourfrenchgarden)August 21, 2009 at 8:50 AM

    I'm laughing at Les' idea.

    Failing that you could write a stinking letter

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  16. How It GrowsAugust 21, 2009 at 10:12 AM

    Did you say what variety it is?

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  17. AndrewAugust 21, 2009 at 3:45 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  18. Catherine@AGardenerinProgressAugust 21, 2009 at 4:20 PM

    Patience paid off for sure! I've threatened plants before and it does seem to help sometimes :)

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  19. AndrewAugust 21, 2009 at 5:51 PM

    I love those Crape Myrtles. They should be hardy here but I've never seen one for sale...

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  20. GailAugust 21, 2009 at 5:57 PM

    Phillip, It's a lovely crape myrtle and it's wonderful that they are now small garden sized! ...and that they are smart enough to listen! gail

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  21. Phillip OliverAugust 21, 2009 at 7:07 PM

    I had to look up the variety name. It is "Pocomoke".

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  22. elizabethAugust 21, 2009 at 7:42 PM

    I grow Pocomokes and mine just started blooming. They're blooming much later this year than last year for some reason..

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  23. Monica the Garden FaerieAugust 25, 2009 at 9:16 AM

    In Michigan, crepe myrtle is one of those things you hear about but never see (one zone too cold). I was excited to see several at MOBOT, including one the very color of yours. I loved it!

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  24. donnaAugust 26, 2009 at 7:35 AM

    i am glad to know you have at least a few weeds in your 3/4 acre garden, esp. since my 225 sq. ft. gets the better of me. and that's with about 60 sq. ft. covered in stepping stones.

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