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....
Lots of beautiful flowers!
ReplyDeleteI especially like all the Clematis blooms.
Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
Thanks Lea!
DeleteWow! What a lot of gorgeous blooms you have. Love that 'Marchesa Boccella' rose.
ReplyDeleteThat is a nice one!
DeleteI am SO envious of your Clematis, Phillip. That Galega is interesting but I can't even find the genus in my sunset Western Garden Book, which can't be a good sign.
ReplyDeleteKris, that is surprising. Joy Creek used to carry it but they are closed now.
DeleteOther than Arabella my Clems have long gone over-and Arabella does look dreadful even as it continues to pump out the blooms. I have 2, so I am doing an experiment and cutting one of them back to about 2 feet to see what happens.
ReplyDelete'Arabella' is fairly new to me. It has not been that vigorous yet.
DeleteThanks for sharing your beautiful blooms, Phillip. You have gorgeous flowers in your area. We are suffering from the heat in western Kentucky. Daily watering is a must for us right now.
ReplyDeleteOh no, I sure don't miss that! :(
DeleteOh my, fabulous Clematis! 'Essex' and 'Phenomenal' make a great pairing, too.
ReplyDeleteSo envious of your Foxtail Lily bloom! (I had no success with this bulb).
ReplyDeleteI love the Gold Buttons and Carex combo: very cool. Are you growing the Alstroemeria in a pot? Is it behaving well in your garden?
Chava
The alstroemeria is in the ground. So far, so good. This is the second year.
DeleteWow! That first photo is sure bright! Beautiful.
ReplyDelete