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....
I felt they all looked the same too, Phillip, until I started following a number of UK garden blogs. After several years, I've come to appreciate their differences even though there's absolutely no chance of growing them in my climate ;)
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way about them, and the--like Kris above-- I started following UK garden blogs and there are definitely differences. I love the green markings on this one, like little green hearts.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter how small those first little flowers are always the most special.
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