Coleton Fishacre (Devon, England)
Coleton Fishacre was in my top 5 gardens on the tour. This Arts & Crafts style house and garden was the country home of Rupert D'Oyly Carte and his wife Lady Dorothy Carte. He was the well-known theater owner (The Savoy) and producer (Gilbert & Sullivan). They spotted the property from their yacht and thought it would be a great spot for a country home and garden. Ah, to have that much money... They commissioned Oswald Milne, a former student of Edward Lutyens to design the house. Both Rupert and Lady Dorothy were interested in gardening but it was Lady Dorothy who mainly planted the garden, filling it with exotic and tender plants that survived with the influence of the Gulf stream. They employed six full-time gardeners! I often wonder if people who have that much money are really able to enjoy a property like this and actually live in it? Their tenure here wasn't that long (a dozen years or so), although Dorothy lived here full-time in the late 19...
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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