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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....

Japanese Silver Grass "Cabaret"

Japanese Silver Grass "Cabaret" (Miscanthus sinensis) - It flops like crazy and gets much larger than I expected. We have been very dry for the past month and need rain really bad. The ornamental grasses, however, do not seem to mind at all.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. I don't think anything fazes the big grasses. Pretty.

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  2. It drives me crazy when plants flop like that! My Karley Rose grass flops after every rainfall, but quickly pops back up once it dries. But it's strictly a summer grass. The seed heads shatter and don't look like much in winter.

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