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Agatha Christie's Greenway (Devon, England) - The House

I can think of two places that we visited where I enjoyed the house more than the gardens. The first was Greenway, not for the house itself, which was surprisingly small and cramped, but for the history behind it and the fascinating mementos on display. Agatha Christie and her husband Max Mallowan were enthusiastic collectors. You can see their collections on display throughout the house - European and Oriental ceramics, pottery, African tribal masks, Egyptian artifacts, Tunbridge ware, china, trinkets, and books. The Morning Room has a portrait of Agatha Christie as a child and her doll Rosie, sitting in a chair - The Drawing Room was where the family would gather in the evenings. Christie would entertain guests by reading chapters from manuscripts of her latest books.  Agatha Christie's bedroom. Max always slept on a smaller portable traveling cot (you can see part of it in the foreground). It was his favorite bed and he carried it with him on all of his archaeological travels. N...
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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day September 2016

solomons-seal-persicaria-hosta I have been enjoying the beautiful fall-like weather and planting up a storm. I will share what I've been doing in a future post. I actually took time this morning to take a few photos for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day which I usually miss altogether. The above photo was taken out front along the foundation. It is kind of a hot mess of Fleece Flower (Persicaria 'Red Dragon'), hostas and Solomon's Seal - more of a foliage shot but at least the Fleece Flower is blooming. Speaking of, it is a sprawling mess right now and I will move it later in the fall. I don't think it gets enough sun. Actually, I will be moving a lot of plants this year. Live and learn!

Some of the potted plants first -

dragonwing-begonia
'Dragon Wing' begonia by the front door

begonia
We love this little begonia and I don't recall the name of it. It is a little blooming machine, doing perfectly fine in full shade. I hope I can overwinter it.

Now on to plants in the ground -


escallonia-pink-princess
The blooms have been a bit stingy but I am loving Pink Princess Escallonia (Escallonia x exoniensis 'Fradesii')

achillea
Yarrow (Achillea)

cosmos
Cosmos

dahlia
Our neighbors gave us this dahlia - isn't it stunning? The blooms are huge and more are on the way.


Gladiolus-murielae-peacock-orchid
Peacock Orchid (Gladiolus murielae)

buddleia-buzz-hot-raspberry
Buddleia 'Buzz Hot Raspberry' - a dwarf variety of Butterfly Bush that has bloomed non-stop since I planted it.


potentilla-gold-star
A new plant for me - Potentilla 'Gold Star'. I found this on the discount table at Portland Nursery. The bees love it. last week.


Penstemon-mexicali-windwalker-garnet
Penstemon mexicala 'Windwalker Garnet'

penstemon-violet-kissed
Penstemon 'Violet Kissed'

bougainvillea-barbara-karst
Bougainvillea 'Barbara Karst'

Leonotis-nepetaefolia
Lion's Ear (Leonotis nepetifolia), another amazing plant that is new to me.

rose-gold-medal
Some roses to finish the post - Hybrid Tea rose 'Gold Medal'

rose-boogie-woogie
Miniature rose 'Boogie Woogie'. The poor thing has blackspot but it has been blooming like mad.

rose-lady-of-shallot
English rose 'Lady of Shallot', the first rose I planted, just starting another flush of blooms.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is held on the 15th of each month. You can see what is blooming in other blogger's gardens at May Dreams Gardens.



Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Anna KSeptember 15, 2016 at 10:23 PM

    Lots of lovely blooms in your garden, Phillip. I confess to being a bit intrigued with Yarrow, lately. I read somewhere that it's one of the most amazing broad spectrum feeder plants for insects. Seeing your happy vignette makes me think I need to get some too. Also, the first photo of the Leonotis is stunning - wow!

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  2. EveSeptember 16, 2016 at 3:31 AM

    I've come to the decision that begonias are the way to go for me Phillip. Everything looks so beautiful. Alabama is a scorched mess this year. If it isn't brown, it's drooped and wilted. So sad.

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  3. Lisa at GreenbowSeptember 16, 2016 at 5:11 AM

    Your new garden has a plethora of new to me blooms. It is fun to see them presented today. I can see you are thoroughly enjoying this new garden. Keep the photos coming. Happy GBBD.

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  4. CommonWeederSeptember 16, 2016 at 7:26 AM

    Beautiful photos of a beautiful garden. I am quite envious of that bouganvillea. My yarrow dried up early this year. It has been really hard to keep everything watered during this drought.

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  5. RoseSeptember 16, 2016 at 8:23 AM

    So many lovely blooms! I can't pick a favorite, but I am really enticed by the 'Violet Kissed' penstemon. I don't think I've ever seen one in these shades. Many of my containers are looking pretty pathetic, but my begonias are doing great,too. I overwintered one last year, and it looked pretty sad all spring, but even it is looking gorgeous right now. I hope I can find room to over-winter most of mine, too. Happy Bloom Day!

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  6. danger gardenSeptember 16, 2016 at 8:38 AM

    Lovely blooms! Will you attempt to overwinter the Bougainvillea or treat it as an annual?

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  7. RobinLSeptember 16, 2016 at 5:49 PM

    How many beautiful colors you have there in your new-ish garden! What garden zone is your new garden? It will be interesting to see which things over winter well for you.

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  8. chavlinessSeptember 18, 2016 at 9:36 PM

    The "hot mess" along the foundation is quite fantastic! I love the striking foliage combinations. I'm in love with the pictures of the Lion's Ear. I hope to add that beauty to my own garden.

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  9. chavlinessSeptember 22, 2016 at 5:26 AM

    Oh, I love that "hot mess" in the first picture: the color combination is so rich, I wouldn't change a thing. It won't be long before the first gardening year in the PNW is up; It must have been quite an exciting learning curve. It would be interesting to read about some of what you've learn that is different from your experience in Alabama. I love everything about the Lion's Ear. Very cool.

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  10. NicSeptember 22, 2016 at 6:39 PM

    Love the lion's ear - I am growing it for the first time this year as well!

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  11. debsgardenSeptember 25, 2016 at 6:43 PM

    The weather agrees with your flowers. I like the Lion's Ear! I first saw 'Red Dragon' Persicaria in your Alabama garden. Now it is growing in mine! Except the unrelenting hot weather the last few months has given it a brownish tint. I hope it will be OK once the weather cools. It is still blooming.

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  12. Casa MariposaOctober 29, 2016 at 5:55 PM

    It must be fun to discover new plants now that you're gardening in such a different climate. Everything seems to be thriving under your magic touch. :o)

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