Agatha Christie's Greenway (Devon, England) - The House
I can think of two places that we visited where I enjoyed the house more than the gardens. The first was Greenway, not for the house itself, which was surprisingly small and cramped, but for the history behind it and the fascinating mementos on display. Agatha Christie and her husband Max Mallowan were enthusiastic collectors. You can see their collections on display throughout the house - European and Oriental ceramics, pottery, African tribal masks, Egyptian artifacts, Tunbridge ware, china, trinkets, and books. The Morning Room has a portrait of Agatha Christie as a child and her doll Rosie, sitting in a chair - The Drawing Room was where the family would gather in the evenings. Christie would entertain guests by reading chapters from manuscripts of her latest books. Agatha Christie's bedroom. Max always slept on a smaller portable traveling cot (you can see part of it in the foreground). It was his favorite bed and he carried it with him on all of his archaeological travels. N...
Your garden is looking great, especially the Clematis--awesome. Beautiful Cotinus too, both of them and the Hydrangeas. Early morning is the best time--but fireworks at 7am? Tacky!
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of fireworks either. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Here big new thing is choreographed lit-up drone shows--all for that, not so noisy, no air pollution.
You've got a lot of wonderful summer color, Phillip! I'm envious of your beautiful Clematis and that very floirferous Hebe. I really don't get fireworks, especially those shot off during the daylight hours - we heard those constantly throughout the day yesterday and then of course it sounded like a war zone last night :(
ReplyDeleteYou made an excellent choice with Salvia 'hot lips': its very hardy and a perfect fit to the colorful vignette by the mail box.
ReplyDeleteI'm growing and loving Hydrangea 'Pee Wee' though I was fooled by the name thinking it will be smaller... it's rather robust. And speaking of Hydrangea: how's your cascading hydrangea "fairytrail bride" doing? I'm still looking for that one. Heronswood is having a Hydrangea festival in August. Maybe I'll find it there.
Although Agastache 'Little Adder' is lovely, the star in the photo is the dish of sparkling trinkets. One of Michael's creations?
Chavli
'Fairytrail Bride' is doing okay in a large pot but I don't think it is getting enough sun since there have been few blooms. I've even tried using a reflector to project more light onto it but so far no luck. The pot is too big to move so I may end up moving it out of that pot. It is growing well though. The birdbath with the stones are ones that we given to us.
DeleteHoly cow! Your garden is looking glorious, the combinations you've done just sing. Your neighbors have infinite inspiration. Hopefully the fireworks weren't awful as the day went on.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten I used to have a Ladybird coreopsis at one time until I saw yours. It must have succumbed a winter or two ago. I love the Spreading Beauty hydrangea.
ReplyDeleteI am a sucker for blue/purple. Your garden looks lovely, Phillip! And I, too, dislike fireworks, do not get the appeal of spending so much money on BOOMS,
especially when they off until 3 am... Debbie
Debbie, I just found a photo of that hydrangea when it was first planted and it had pink flowers!
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