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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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Garden Blogger's Bloom Day for March 2019


 

Last year's March Bloom Day was a lot more active than this year's. We had the coldest February in 30 years and a few snowfalls although nothing major on that front and certainly not matching the 11 inches we got the second winter we were here.

Things are warming up fast and next week promises to see temperatures reaching near the 70 mark. I'm sure that will perk things up.

The little Iris reticulata is blooming and another patch of it bloomed much earlier and got trampled by snow and ice. I'm still not sure why one patch bloomed before the other as they are close to each other.

I posted this photo of the pretty yellow iris that is blooming by the entrance to the driveway -


Last fall, I planted more crocus and they are beginning to emerge and some are starting to display blooms. 

The one is right outside our front door. I love the purple and orange combination.

One hellebore is also blooming and has been for a month now. This one is 'Gold Collection Merlin'. Last year, I picked up some hellebores at the nursery but I haven't seen blooms on them yet.

And lastly, the Creeping Rosemary has blooms. Is this normal? It is planted at the top of a retaining wall so it is in a very warm spot. So far, in my quest to find cascading plants to drape our curving wall that borders the driveway, there have been few successes. This is one of them. A second Creeping Rosemary planted in the hillside terraces died last winter. 

Hopefully, there will be much more to show in April!

 Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is hosted by May Dreams Gardens. Check out what is blooming in other blogger's gardens around the world. 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. LisaMarch 15, 2019 at 8:55 AM

    When you ask if it's normal for creeping (or prostrate) rosemary to have blooms, do you mean do they generally bloom, or that you think yours is blooming oddly? Because they bloom like mad! Mine blooms nearly year-round. You can let those draping stems lay on the ground and they'll root. I just cut three off the "mother" plant. I also have several I grew from stem cuttings rooted in water, and they started blooming nearly right away.

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverMarch 15, 2019 at 10:07 AM

      Hi Lisa, I was uncertain if they bloomed this early. I remember that it had bloomed last summer.

      Delete
  2. chavlinessMarch 15, 2019 at 9:22 AM

    I have lost multiple Rosemary over the years; they aren't always hardy and your microclimate will determine if they survive. Or just luck. I've also been surprised at times when I see Rosemary in bloom, seemingly out of season, though always a welcomed site. The yellow blooming crocus is so delightful, like a ray of sunshine.

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverMarch 15, 2019 at 10:09 AM

      This particular one is in a really warm spot, next to all that concrete.

      Delete
  3. A Garden in ProgressMarch 15, 2019 at 3:34 PM

    I love that Iris reticulata! I planted some bulbs, but they haven't been successful. Happy GBBD!

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  4. outlawgardenerMarch 15, 2019 at 7:48 PM

    Oh those crazy Rosemary plants always bloom at odd times. Some pretty late winter blooms in your garden this month. Strange how the temperatures are fluctuating from fairly cold to suddenly summer within a week's time. Happy GBBD!

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  5. Hoover BooMarch 18, 2019 at 4:16 PM

    The rosemary has been blooming here the past few weeks. Triggered by number of daylight hours? Some plants do that.

    Your bulb flowers are so lovely. The intensity of the colors is delightful.

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