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....
Stunning October garden!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous, gorgeous photos. Your garden doesn't show any sign of the usual end of summer stress or fatigue. The only clue is the subtle change of color in tree canopies. I love those long shots down the paths, through arbors... The white pine still looks tall and trim: thankfully it doesn't seem to gain in width (or do you give it the occasional snip?).
ReplyDeleteI'm so tire of the smoke and heat. Waiting for a darn good soak on Friday!
chavli
Your garden stands out beautifully against the fog and the regrettable smoke, Phillip. It's lovely to see the wonderful fall color that's largely absent in my part of the country. I hope the nearby fire is brought under control soon.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you've got a wildfire nearby. The smoke is terrible.
ReplyDeleteAmazing how your garden has matured so quickly into something quite wonderful.
All the different foliage colors in the shrubs and trees--i love that, the bronze and blues and chartreuse, not just greens. Besides the many different shapes and textures.
You are 1 awesome gardener.
Gosh, Phillip, your Alabama garden was wonderful but I think you've outdone it with this one. Hard to believe it would be possible but the proof is in the pictures. You have a deft designing hand, marrying textures, shapes and colors into a marvelous garden to behold. Thanks for sharing it.
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