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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....
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Red, White & Blue Flowers for the 4th


Happy July 4th. Thanks to a fireworks ban, we are enjoying a quiet and peaceful day. I'm not a fan of loud noises so it doesn't upset me in the least. The reasoning for the ban, however, is upsetting. It is dry, dry, dry. So, given the option, I would choose a noisy day of fireworks if there could be rain.

But, really, who needs fireworks when there are plenty in the garden?

The RED -

 

Rose 'Altissimo'


Smoke Tree (Cotinus 'Royal Purple')

 

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)

 

Begonia 'Dragon Wing'

 

Bee Balm (Monarda 'Raspberry Wine')

 The WHITE -

Cosmos


 

Rose 'Swany'

 

Hydrangea 'Annabelle'

 

Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum 'Luna') and Knautia

 

Oakleaf Hydrangea 'Alice' (Hydrangea quercifolia)


Coneflower (Echinacea 'White Swan')


And The BLUE

 

Clematis 'Arabella'

 

Clematis durandii

 
Goat's Rue (Galega 'Lady Wilson')

 

Geranium 'Rozanne'

 

Hydrangea 'Let's Dance - Rave'

Hydrangea 'Cityline Rio'

 

Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue'

Phlox 'Blue Paradise'

Phlox 'Purple Kiss'



Blue Lace Flower (Trachelium caeruleum)

Veronica longifolia 'Marietta'

 

 And I leave you with the flower that most reminds me of a firework - the Spider Flower (Cleome) -



Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

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Comments

  1. Lisa at GreenbowJuly 6, 2021 at 4:34 AM

    Beautiful fireworks in your garden Phillip. I hope you get rain soon. Happy 4th to you and Michael.

    ReplyDelete

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