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Special Plants Nursery (Chippenham, England)

Our third day was a busy one as we left our first hotel in Bath and traveled to Wells. There were several stops along the way, the first being Special Plants Nursery in Chippenham, England. It was a warm day. The nursery is owned by former Oregonian Derry Watkins, who moved to England decades ago when she married an Englishman. She is a plant collector and has traveled all over the world, her favorite place being South Africa.  That is Derry in the above photos talking to our group. The house and garden are located on a steep hill with idyllic countryside surrounding it. She says the garden was designed by her architect husband and she has filled it with her favorite plants, mostly tender perennials that she has collected from her plant-hunting expeditions. Most of the beds are terraced and many plants are grown in gravel. The garden is also enhanced with some striking ornaments - Lower island beds proceed downhill - A bog garden - At the bottom of the property is a woodland walk....

Cantaloupe #2


I was at my mother's house yesterday and there was another ripe cantaloupe. This is the second one. I'm so excited! Of all the things I planted, the cantaloupes have been the most successful. The fragrance is so intense. I had to roll the windows down on my way home and now our kitchen smells like a big cantaloupe. 

As excited as I am about growing a first, I'm disappointed that the watermelons tanked. They are my favorite. Michael loves cantaloupe though so he is very happy.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Although we do not grow our own, the local ones have been great this year. The last two my wife got nearly ran us out of the house, the smell was so intense.

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  2. That's great, Phillip! Better luck with the watermelons next year...

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  3. Cantaloupes are finished here in the farm fields. This one looks perfect. We have the same situation here, in that I like watermelon and my DB likes cantaloupe best. I hope you have better luck next year with your watermelons.

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  4. None of our watermelons made, either. The one baby succumbed to blossom end rot. We did get a glorious cantaloupe, though; lucky you to have two! Definitely need more vines next year.

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  5. We've had good cantaloupes too. If you smell it, it's ripe. Enjoy!

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  6. We haven't tried to grow our own cantaloupes yet but the one we bought at our market this week was as big as a watermelon and tasted so good!

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