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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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David & Greg's Garden


This is David and Greg's garden in Woodland, Washington. I work with David at Yard n' Garden Land and it seems like it was just yesterday that they built their house and started their garden. I'm sure they would disagree. 

Actually - hold on to your seat - this is only the second season for this garden! Amazing! David says that credit goes to 500 yards of "magic volcanic Columbia River bottom/former dairy farm soil". It was used to build the slope that dips down behind the house. He wisely decided to put in low-growing perennials and grasses which doesn't impede this view -


This is a big leap from their formal residence which was a small rental house in Vancouver. At that time, they grew everything in pots. Plus Greg is an orchid grower and has quite a big collection. Now they have enough room (40 acres) for everyone.

There are expansion plans brewing. A greenhouse is going to be built for the orchids. A courtyard in front of the house is already partly planted as well as a border that extends along the east and north side of the house. Fun times ahead!























Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. ksSeptember 16, 2024 at 6:30 PM

    What a beautiful garden ! And excellent photos as well. Thanks for sharing -I hope you can update us next year as well.

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  2. Kris PetersonSeptember 16, 2024 at 9:05 PM

    That's a remarkably short period to have created a garden that spectacular! I love the mass of bright purple at the front of the house, as well as the plants massed along the stone path.

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 16, 2024 at 9:10 PM

    Wonderful photos and kind words! Can't wait to see what happens next!

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  4. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2024 at 10:14 AM

    Gorgeous garden! Thanks for sharing this with us Phillip!

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  5. DeniseSeptember 17, 2024 at 10:21 AM

    Good soil is everything! Great planting choices and design skills help too ;). Fabulous!

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  6. Ardith FergusonSeptember 17, 2024 at 5:12 PM

    Wow, wow, wow! What an amazing garden. I especially like the use of ornamental grasses. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos.

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  7. tz_gardenSeptember 18, 2024 at 7:51 AM

    WOW! The front is a master class in layering, amazing. Having that much space is such a dream, I'd be plunking things here & there. They obviously have a great focus and eye and are NOT. Beautiful!

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  8. Lisa at GreenbowSeptember 19, 2024 at 3:40 AM

    For goodness sakes. This is almost unbelievable for just 2 years of garden. These gentlemen both have green thumbs as well as great soil. What a marvelous beginning to a magnificent garden. The views are stunning too.

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  9. danger gardenSeptember 19, 2024 at 9:45 AM

    How wonderful! 40 acres, wow...

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