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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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Pamela Harper, gardening guru


A few weeks ago, I had the great opportunity to hear Pamela Harper speak at the Mid-South Hydrangea Society meeting in Memphis. I've been an admirer for many years and her book "Time-Tested Plants: Thirty Years in a Four Season Garden" is one of my gardening bibles. I've found that most of the plants she grows in her Virginia garden do well in north Alabama. About the only difference is her soil is sandy and ours is clay. Here are some of the great plants I've discovered from that book:

Climbing Raspberry (Rubus rosifolus "Coronarius") - This thorny vine is compensated by beautiful spring time blooms that look like an old rose.

Bleeding Heart Vine (Dicentra scadens) - Gorgeous and dainty, it is tougher than it looks. Planted in dry shade, it always goes dormant by mid-summer but reliably returns each spring.

Fatshedera lizei -  The result of a cross between English Ivy and Fatsia. Another winner for dry shade.

Michelia Figo (Banana Shrub) - Another tough customer, it has survived the dry shade death trap. Beautiful glossy foliage and exceptional fragrance.

Euphorbia corolata - Drought tolerant perennial that resembles Baby's Breath.

Japanese Roof Iris (Iris tectorum) - A tough iris that actually grows on roofs in England. Doubtful it would do that here but does well in shade.

Carex phyllocephala "Sparkler" - An evergreen sedge that reminds me of a tiny grove of palm trees.

Lespedeza thumbergii "Pink Fountain" & "White Fountain" -  Large arching shrub with tiny pea-like flowers in summer and golden foliage in fall.


Azalea "Koromo Shikibu" - Beautiful, evergreen, fragrant pale purple variety.

As you can see, Ms. Harper is good for my garden and bad for my wallet. As a result of her talk, I know have more plants on my wish list! Her topic was "Hydrangeas and Their Companions". She shared beautiful slides of her garden (she is an excellent photographer) and educated us with her knowledge and lulled us with her beautiful English accent. Here are a few plants that she mentioned that I made notes of:

Climbing Hydrangea "Moonlight"
Liripe "Lilac Beauty" and "Christmas Tree"
Toothwort (Dentaria diphylla)
Phlox "Minnie Pearl"
Hydrangea "Little Honey"
Picea "Skylands"
Sweet Flag "Ogon"
Witch Hazel "Jalena"
Anemone nemorosa
Cestrum "Orange Peel" and "Lemon Peel"

A memorable night and well worth the 2.5 hour drive!

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 2, 2010 at 3:50 AM

    Oh, I'm jealous! I'm going to have to copy your wish list!

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  2. AnonymousNovember 2, 2010 at 5:05 AM

    Hi Phillip, love the photo of you two. I can vouch for Hydrangea 'Little Honey', it is worthy. :-)
    Frances

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  3. sweetbayNovember 2, 2010 at 5:21 AM

    How nice that you got to see her in person and see her pictures! I'll have to get those books you mentioned. I have her Perennials book and it's one of those I always go back to. I have Toothwort and Phlox 'Minnie Pearl' from her list and they are both beautiful performers.

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  4. Lisa at GreenbowNovember 2, 2010 at 5:29 AM

    What a great evening. Nothing like a jolt of inspiration after a long hot summer.

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  5. GailNovember 2, 2010 at 5:56 AM

    Phillip, How wonderful to meet her~I love the little evergreen azalea and would love to have it in my garden! gail

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  6. DarlaNovember 2, 2010 at 7:32 AM

    This must have been a great experience for you. If you are interested in growing your own loofah sponges, drop by.

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  7. Gardener on Sherlock StreetNovember 2, 2010 at 8:29 AM

    Very nice that you got to meet her!

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  8. Mr. McGregor's DaughterNovember 2, 2010 at 2:31 PM

    Lucky you! I loved her book "Color Echoes," which has been very influential in the development of my garden. If I lived in Zone 7, I'd buy all her books.

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  9. AnonymousNovember 2, 2010 at 6:48 PM

    Pamela certainly knows her plants. Did you see her on a Gardener's Diary?
    Great photo!

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  10. EveNovember 22, 2010 at 4:24 PM

    I have Pamela's book! I remember seeing her on a garden show and went right to Amazon and got the book! I bought it when I was up in the NY tundra, I'll be heading right up to get it out and start planning my wish list!!

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