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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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Grow in the Dark - a book review


Grow in the Dark: How to Choose and Care for Low-Light Houseplants by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf
Cool Springs Press, 2019. 

 For someone who loves plants as much as I do, you would think that I would be just as enthusiastic about houseplants. However, that is not the case although I do love indoor plants and find any setting, whether it be someone's home or a restaurant, greatly enhanced by the presence of plants. We have one houseplant, a variegated Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) that I tend to in my study. It is now residing on the deck during the summer months. Part of the reason for this absence is my other half, who doesn't want to clean around them, and my own self-professed lack of knowledge on how to care for them. But, as this book shows, houseplants are not as problematic as you might think.

Profiling 50 common (and a few I've never heard of) houseplants, focusing on those that flourish under low-light situations. Each profile gives their preferred lighting needs, water requirements, size, propagation and whether or not the plant is toxic to pets. Each plant had a color photo and a quick key guide indicating light and water levels as well as pet safety.

 Prior to that, the author discusses each type of exposure your home will have as well as tips to enhance your sunlight. She also provides handy tips on watering plants (how to tell when they need it and how to do it properly), fertilizing, maintenance, grooming, and problem solving.

 This is a really helpful book for selecting a plant to meet your needs or help you care for the ones you may already have. 

 Disclosure - The Quarto Group sent me a free copy of this book for a review. The review reflects my sole and personal opinions.


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Lisa at GreenbowJune 20, 2019 at 3:39 AM

    Interesting. I have only a couple of indoor plants. I don't like having to water them all the time. I make such messes doing so. Either that or I forget to water them. I bought all of these tropical plants to make the patio look jungley this summer. They are doing the job well. Now the question is do I bring them in this winter or leave them to the elements? We will see.

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  2. Hoover BooJune 21, 2019 at 4:11 PM

    Looks like a helpful book. Many houseplants grow fine and dandy outside here--easier outdoors in the ground than indoors in a pot--so my "house" plants are almost all outdoors.

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