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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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Win an unabridged CD audiobook of "Wicked Plants"

The winner is Darla of More Family and Flowers blog. Congratulations Darla and thanks to everyone who entered!


Who knew that the plant kingdom could be so dangerous? In "Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Atrocities", author Amy Stewart presents an A-Z encyclopedia of over 200 plants that can make you sick, cripple you or even kill you. Many of these plants could be lurking in your backyard although many come from far reaches of the world. Stewart weaves fascinating botanical facts with folklore, mythology, medicine and pop culture. This 4 CD audiobook (4.5 hours) is read by Coleen Marlo who was chosen Audiobook Reader of the Year for 2010 by Publisher's Weekly.


One lucky winner will receive a copy. To enter, leave a comment to this post and include your e-mail address so I can contact you if you are the winner. The contest is open through midnight Tuesday, August 23.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. BoAugust 16, 2011 at 9:45 PM

    I listen to audiobooks all the time in the car...I hope I win...bosbowl at gmail .com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lisa at GreenbowAugust 17, 2011 at 3:46 AM

    I think this would be great fun to listen to. Thanks for the opportunity. bowerbird53atsbcglobaldotnet

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  3. MarjorieAugust 17, 2011 at 4:24 AM

    What an excellent "read". We listen to audio books when we travel and this would be a big hit. kmstrotheratgmaildotcom

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  4. DarlaAugust 17, 2011 at 6:46 AM

    Perfect giveaway with school starting back and us parent gardener's spending so much time in the car playing taxi! rusdar at hotmai dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rosedale GardenAugust 17, 2011 at 5:13 PM

    With a half hour drive to work and back each day, I can finish it in a week. marycar@netspeednow.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. HannahAugust 19, 2011 at 1:46 PM

    How interesting! We just bought a new house with beautiful, but neglected gardens. I've ripped out enough deadly nightshade to wipe out the town!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. HannahAugust 19, 2011 at 1:47 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. GailAugust 19, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    Phillip, This will be a fun listen~
    gailtilesatgmaildotcom

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  9. UpLATEagainAugust 19, 2011 at 8:44 PM

    Oh, how VERY cool! I wish me lucky and I THANK you! Awesome blog!
    -ALTEREDsewFittingly@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. serial tillerAugust 21, 2011 at 3:24 PM

    Phillip, you give away the most interesting things! Put me in please. This sounds like something I'd really enjoy since I have a "dark side." Moo-ha-ha.
    scooterjen@tds.net

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  11. CherylAugust 21, 2011 at 3:28 PM

    This book has been on my list. Thanks! cherylwbennett@gmail.com

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  12. C. C.August 22, 2011 at 7:23 AM

    Having bought my first monkshood this year (and maybe last, considering that it died within 6 weeks), I'd love to read this. Thanks for the opportunity to vie for it!

    ccwinslow at mindspring dot com.

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  13. Peggy HillAugust 22, 2011 at 1:46 PM

    I often checkout audiobooks from the library. They're great for a long car trip. Please enter me in the drawing.

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  14. DarlaAugust 24, 2011 at 9:28 AM

    I answered your email,:)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Plant LibraryAugust 26, 2011 at 9:13 PM

    I have been searching for this information since long time your suggestions and tips are really helpful for us..
    Thanks for the sharing this all with us..

    ReplyDelete

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