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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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Dividing & Transplanting Joe Pye Weed



A major job that I dreaded this fall was digging up, dividing and transplanting  Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum). 

One of my favorite perennials, it makes a commanding statement in the garden. A clump of tall erect stems with puffy pink flowers appear in late summer. In fall, the leaves are a bright yellow.

It started out innocently enough...

In 2017 (it was either planted that year or the year before), it was tall by autumn but only five or six stalks...



Two years later, much taller (7 feet!) and wider but manageable (I'm sure we had cut away at the sides)...



And last year (2022), starting to spread...


This year it has not been that attractive and apparently, I did not even photograph it. The blooms were short-lived, and the plant is sprawling.  Time for action!

I had longed thought that the plant was too large for the area where it is located. So I decided that I move it to another area of the garden.

After cutting the canes back about half-way (I did this a few weeks ago), I started digging around the clump. It wasn't really that bad as the plant is not too deep-rooted, it is just wide. Having a bum knee didn't help matters much.



After almost falling into the thing and poking my eyes out, I decided to cut the stalks down all the way to the ground. Much better!


I was going nowhere with attempting to divide the clump with my shovel. "Christina, bring me the axe!"


This worked much better and I divided the entire clump into three pieces. This should probably be divided even further. They are so heavy!


A newly planted clump just in time for soaking rains overnight...



It will be interesting to see how this does in its new home. It was in a damp spot previously and they do like moisture. This area is a drier location although we water a lot. Until next season!

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Kris PetersonNovember 4, 2023 at 4:11 PM

    Another great plant I wish I could grow in my climate.

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    1. Phillip OliverNovember 6, 2023 at 8:51 AM

      I did not realize it couldn't be grown everywhere.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousNovember 5, 2023 at 5:59 PM

    Please follow up next year. I want to see the companion plantings. Thanks

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  3. AnonymousNovember 6, 2023 at 7:11 AM

    Did you plant all the divisions in the garden? Did one dropped back into the original spot? Maybe a slightly dryer location will contain the exuberant growth...
    Chavli

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    1. Phillip OliverNovember 6, 2023 at 8:52 AM

      I planted 2 of the divisions in different areas (I'm putting something different in the original location). I divided the third piece into two pieces and plan to share them.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousAugust 4, 2024 at 8:26 AM

    How did it work? Did they survive, even flourish? Is there a picture from this year?

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverAugust 4, 2024 at 9:31 AM

      Yes, both clumps are doing fine and I see buds on them. I'm having to water them frequently because they keep wilting. I will try to get a photo.

      Delete
  5. AnonymousAugust 20, 2025 at 9:04 AM

    I’m in the pacific northwest and love my Joe. I went on this site as I need to move it to a less windy spot. I thought it was going to blow over. I have it by a window and love watching all the bees on the flowers. I will remember to cut the stocks right down. I did chuckle at the remark of almost getting your eyes poked out. By the way mine is in quite a dry place and does well.

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