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The Garden House (Devon, England)

The destinations are beginning to blur but looking at the tour guide booklet, I see that we are now in Plymouth. Today, we visited two gardens designed by Keith Wiley.  The first is The Garden House , where Wiley worked as Head Gardener for 25 years (from 1978-2003). The 10-acre estate was purchased in the 1940s by former Eton schoolmaster Lionel Fortescue and his wife Katherine. It was formerly home to the  vicars of Buckland Monachronum. The Fortescue's renovated the gardens and ran a market garden business and raised cattle.  The remains of some of the original buildings in the vicarage still stand in the garden and serve as a romantic backdrop in the Walled Garden - I loved the way they had massed ferns together. Just stunning! Surrounding the walled garden and venturing out away from the house are more naturalistic plantings  - Today, the head gardener is Nick Haworth, who was previously head gardener at Greenway , which we visited earlier.  Keith Wiley lef...
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Autumnal Equinox 9/23/23


Today is the official first day of fall - the Autumnal Equinox when the sun passes directly over the equator and progresses southward.  Weather-wise, it certainly feels like fall with the temperatures only in the 60s today and our first major rain event beginning tomorrow.

The garden looks good considering it is soooooo dry. The rain is needed badly. I glanced through the Farmer's Almanac while Michael was shopping for fabric this morning and the winter forecast for the Pacific Northwest is colder and dryer. On a brighter note, next summer is supposed to be cooler.









Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Kris PetersonSeptember 23, 2023 at 7:05 PM

    Your garden is looking very colorful on the first day of fall. Enjoy that rain! I'm envious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barbara H.September 23, 2023 at 9:38 PM

    Phillip, your gardens are always so beautiful. These pictures look like paintings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Patricia CSeptember 24, 2023 at 8:48 AM

    So fabulous. Just love your garden and your posts. Always inspiring. Always gorgeous. Cheers, Phillip

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 24, 2023 at 10:10 AM

    I'm envious of your variegated Dogwood wolf-eyes. I fell in love when I saw it in your Alabama garden. The pink and gray phormium in front complements it beautifully.
    Chavli

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverSeptember 24, 2023 at 8:57 PM

      It has really gotten much bigger here than it did in Alabama!

      Delete
  5. AngieSeptember 25, 2023 at 10:28 AM

    Your gardens are always so beautiful. Our Equinox came with my favorite kind of fall weather-- rainy and cool. Perfect for reading. And after the drought we had, it was a welcomed change.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lisa at GreenbowSeptember 27, 2023 at 4:28 AM

    Your garden looks so lush even if it has been so dry. My garden is quite parched. Plants look wilted for the most part. I am looking forward to cool and rainy. I hope this fall brings the rain at least.

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