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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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The sun decided to make an appearance today

Lo and behold, the clouds departed today and the sun came out. I read a few days ago that we had only had 3 sunny days this entire winter. I am not sure I believe that, as we do have lots of "sun breaks", but it has rained quite a lot this past month. 

I spent the afternoon in the garden, planting seeds and getting some pruning accomplished. The Dutch iris I planted earlier are blooming. That said, they are on very small stalks. Hmmm, lack of sunlight perhaps? Nevertheless, they brought us quite a bit of cheer today.




Dutch Iris  
The Lily of the Valley Shrubs (Pieris) are also blooming and looking wonderful. I never grew this shrub in Alabama and I don't know why. It is quite abundant here and everyone seems to have them. I have planted three in the garden ('Mountain Fire' is not pictured). They are still quite small, less than 2 feet.

Pieris 'Passion Frost'
Pieris 'Passion Frost'
 


Pieris 'Valley Rose'
Pieris 'Valley Rose'
 The rain is scheduled to make a return tomorrow morning but we have several sunny, dry days predicted for next week. And the temperatures have climbed into the 50s now. Spring is coming!

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Evan BeanMarch 10, 2017 at 9:49 PM

    The sun was absolutely wonderful today! That second iris picture is lovely. They look more like Iris reticulata than Dutch iris. My Dutch iris are just poking their leaves out of the ground. I love pieris. They're some of my favorite shrubs, even though you'll hear other lifelong residents of the PNW dismiss them as common. Mine are all really young, too.

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  2. AlisonMarch 10, 2017 at 11:18 PM

    Yes, we had some sun and dry weather up here near Seattle today too, and I finally got some work done in the garden. I'll be achy for a few days but it was worth it.

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  3. Lisa at GreenbowMarch 11, 2017 at 5:10 AM

    The little iris are always a treat during spring. Mine aren't up yet. Those a lovely blooms on the Pieris. We are back to winter here. There will be a lot of bud/bloom loss. Nothing like a whacky spring to make you look forward to summer.

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  4. organicgardendreamsMarch 11, 2017 at 6:47 AM

    Hi, Phillip, three days of sun the whole winter?! I would be seriously depressed. Anyway, I am glad the sun came out yesterday for you and you got to work in the garden.
    The color of the dutch iris is simply stunning and you took some wonderful shots of them.
    I love, love, love the pieris shrubs, especially the variety 'Valley Rose', I don't recall that I have them seen here in San Diego. I have to check, if they grow here I might have to get one. They are so beautiful!
    To many more sunny days with plenty of gardening!
    Warm regards,
    Christina

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  5. http://whatsitgarden.blogspot.comMarch 11, 2017 at 7:40 AM

    It never seems to stop raining ! I did have a nice day in the garden yesterday though , I was hoping for more today , but it doesn't look promising .

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  6. Hoover BooMarch 12, 2017 at 1:47 PM

    Gorgeous photos, especially that 2nd one with its delicious colors, the bokeh, the light pricking the edges of the blue...makes me feel happy...thank you!

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  7. debsgardenMarch 12, 2017 at 5:19 PM

    We have had some dreary days, but today was sunny, though cold. Freezing temps are expected this week. Of course, most things have budded out early this year. Azaleas are in full bloom. I have pieris planted in several areas of the garden. Last fall every one of them developed a blight. I cut away the affected areas and sprayed them. So far they look OK this year. They have always been one of my favorite shrubs.

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  8. Endah MurniyatiMarch 13, 2017 at 9:00 PM

    beautiful!

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  9. Rosedale GardenMarch 14, 2017 at 8:22 PM

    snow here, daffs are blooming trees are buding out and the freeze is going to kill a lot of things

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  10. AaronMarch 16, 2017 at 7:43 AM

    Beautiful pics, Phillip.

    Sorry to hear you've had such a grey winter, but as you say - sunnier days are ahead :)

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