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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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Mt. St. Helens

Mt. St. Helens (Washington) 
I finally made it all the way up to see Mt. St. Helens last week. On a clear day, you can see it from various locations around Vancouver (and Portland for that matter). It is about a 1 hour drive from our house, located slightly to the northeast. It is still an active volcano, which is a bit frightening when you think about it. Or I could worry about North Korea's missiles reaching us. Danger lurks all about. I think I will just enjoy the incredible beauty this region has to offer and try not to dwell on the unpleasantness.

Mt. St. Helens (Washington)
This is a view from a Visitor's Center located just off I-5 in Castle Rock, about 45 miles from Mt. St. Helens.

Mt. St. Helens (Washington)
Along the drive up the mountain, there are lots of places to pull over and see great views.


Mt. St. Helens (Washington)
The area has abundant wildflowers.


Mt. St. Helens (Washington)
A native Penstemon

Mt. St. Helens (Washington)
When Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, it resulted in mass destruction, eliminating entire lakes and totally reconstructed the landscape. It is a fascinating story. The Visitor's Center is filled with artifacts and exhibits that illustrate the event. It is a "must-see" if you are visiting the area.

Mt. St. Helens (Washington)
Evidence of the big event are everywhere.
Mt. St. Helens (Washington)


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Endah MurniyatiJuly 6, 2017 at 12:33 AM

    Beautiful scenery! Thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lisa at GreenbowJuly 6, 2017 at 3:49 AM

    What a beautiful area. That penstemon is sweet. Such a pretty color.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RebeccaJuly 6, 2017 at 6:36 PM

    Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJuly 6, 2017 at 6:58 PM

    You got some beautiful shots of this fascinating area.

    ReplyDelete
  5. klaraau01July 9, 2017 at 1:39 PM

    Thank you for sharing such a beautiful place, it's a treat to see it

    ReplyDelete
  6. AaronJuly 10, 2017 at 3:23 PM

    Awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hoover BooJuly 11, 2017 at 11:48 AM

    Great shots. All the empty area with wildflowers was forest before the eruption. The land is healing slowly--the ash must be hundreds of feet deep in some places.

    Still, it's beautiful!

    ReplyDelete

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