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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....

Falling Leaves



The leaves continue to fall, especially after brisk winds last night. Before I went to bed, I could see the small leaves of the Japanese maples beginning to carpet the deck.

There are two unnamed Japanese maples by the deck steps, one on each side. They are among the first trees planted after we moved in. The tree on the right was the one losing most of its leaves. This is how it looked this morning -




The opposite maple, on the other hand, lost very little. Hmmm....




The parrotia also lost most of its leaves overnight, mainly toward the top. Revealed - a squirrel's nest? Ugh




The one tree with the most leaves left is the 'Dakota Pinnacle' birch. It has been the prettiest it has ever been this year. 



Winter draws closer with snow in the forecast for next week.



Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Love that Dakota Pinnacle - reminds me of the birches in Sweden. <3

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  2. Love seeing all the color in your garden. The Heuchra leaves and the fall leaves are a perfect match.

    ReplyDelete

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