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Special Plants Nursery (Chippenham, England)

Our third day was a busy one as we left our first hotel in Bath and traveled to Wells. There were several stops along the way, the first being Special Plants Nursery in Chippenham, England. It was a warm day. The nursery is owned by former Oregonian Derry Watkins, who moved to England decades ago when she married an Englishman. She is a plant collector and has traveled all over the world, her favorite place being South Africa.  That is Derry in the above photos talking to our group. The house and garden are located on a steep hill with idyllic countryside surrounding it. She says the garden was designed by her architect husband and she has filled it with her favorite plants, mostly tender perennials that she has collected from her plant-hunting expeditions. Most of the beds are terraced and many plants are grown in gravel. The garden is also enhanced with some striking ornaments - Lower island beds proceed downhill - A bog garden - At the bottom of the property is a woodland walk....

Adventures In Eden - a book review

Adventures in Eden: An Intimate Tour of the Private Gardens of Europe by Carolyn Mullet (Timber Press, December 8, 2020)

The cover photograph of undulating ribbons of boxwood with tulips sprinkled within is a resplendent invitation to the contents awaiting inside this beautiful coffee table book.

The garden is Broughton Grange and it is just one of fifty private European gardens in the book authored by Carolyn Mullet, a garden designer and garden tour guide. The gardens are arranged in chapters divided by country and they include England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Scandanavia, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Italy.

The book includes gardens for every taste. Large estate gardens with walled gardens, secret gardens contained within clipped hedges, small cottages smothered in wisteria,  and more are illustrated with enchanting photographs. The narrative discusses the history of the gardens and how they are maintained.


Some of the gardens profiled include The Garden of Cosmic Speculation in Scotland and Helen Dillon's new garden in Monkstown on Dublin Bay. A good majority of the gardens are ones designed in the popular Piet Oudolf style. One of my favorites was Jardin de la Louve in Provence designed by Nicole de Vesian who was seventy when she made it. 

This is a great book to dream with during the winter months.

 


 

I was provided with a digital review copy of this book from NetGalley.

 As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Looks like this one will be a good one, as you say for winter.

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