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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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Abutilon (Flowering Maple)

abutilon-flowering-megapotamicum-maple

Abutilon megapotamicum (aka Flowering Maple)

This is a plant I bought last year at Plant Delights. Abutilons are popular plants for containers and I had never heard of anyone growing them in the ground. At Plant Delights Nursery, they were perfectly happy and healthy in the ground. There are cold hardy varieties that do fine thought and this one survived the winter, even planted on the north side of the house. They are native to Brazil and related to the Hibiscus family. It is loaded with blooms at the moment. Planted in mostly shade, it has produced stalks that have shot up to 2 ft. (they grow 8 ft. tall in their native country and rarely get past 5 ft. here).

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Lisa at GreenbowMay 10, 2013 at 4:54 PM

    I had one of these planted in a pot for several years. I did bring it into the house during winter. It only bloomed during fall. I think it is amazing that it lives outside all winter in your area. Lucky you.

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  2. gardenenvyMay 10, 2013 at 11:16 PM

    That is lovely! Jeannine

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  3. Anne BoykinMay 11, 2013 at 2:32 AM

    Hi Phillip, The flowering maple was one of my mother's favorite house plants growing up in California. Love Plants Delights nursery.

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  4. NicMay 11, 2013 at 5:41 AM

    Very pretty! I have always had to bring mine inside, but even so they are easy and rewarding plants.

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  5. EveMay 11, 2013 at 6:00 PM

    This is such a beautiful photo of a stunning plant! It was so great meeting you and Michael today! A perfect day for a walk in a perfect garden!!!

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  6. outlawgardenerMay 11, 2013 at 10:17 PM

    This is one of my favorite plants!In the ground or in pots, they make it through most winters here. In mild winters, they only stop blooming in December or January and begin again in May. Our humming birds seem to like them,too!

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  7. debsgardenMay 14, 2013 at 6:10 AM

    Beautiful! And now I am ashamed because someone gave me a tiny one, and I didn't really know what it was and did not do my research. I neglected it, and it died. Next time will be different!

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  8. UnknownMay 19, 2013 at 4:30 PM

    I love abutilon, but rarely see them. I spotted some at a botanic garden over the weekend and I think I giggled with joy. Good post about a great plant, and very nice photos to boot!

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  9. ellenAugust 12, 2013 at 9:46 AM

    I think I shall have to get one of these. Finally after 14 years on the homestead I am starting to landscape!

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