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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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Bring On The Fall Color

Gingko 'Troll'

The Fall colors seem to be coming sooner this year. The Stewartia was the first tree I noticed, and it changed weeks ago. Others, such as many of the Japanese maples and dogwoods, haven't changed yet.

Stewartia pseudocamellia



Bluestar (Amsonia hubrechtii) is the most colorful fall perennial.



I would say the most colorful shrub is the Bloodtwig Dogwood (Cornus 'Midwinter Fire'). It began to change color weeks ago and it has really grown this year. 



The best year so far for Fothergilla 'Jane Platt'. This has been an extreme slow grower but it is finally filling in.


A colorful grouping with the amazing Miscanthus 'Little Miss',  Joe Pye Weed and Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboretum). 

Miscanthus 'Little Miss' is the most colorful ornamental grass in the garden.



Black Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) changes color from the inside out.

Wiegela 'Wings of Fire'


Looking down the garden pathway with Cornus 'Midwinter Fire' in the distance.
Notice the mushrooms - I've never seen so many as I have this year.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. tz_gardenOctober 24, 2024 at 8:54 AM

    Wow, this is fantastic! I love the Gingko. You're a true artist with color and texture. Little Miss in front of the green doesn't even look real. And the orange Stewartia in front of the purple blooms, my goodness. I'll say it again, your neighbors are so lucky!

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  2. Kris PetersonOctober 24, 2024 at 10:44 AM

    Lovely splashes of yellow and orange! That last shot is beautiful, mushrooms included.

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  3. Ardith FergusonOctober 24, 2024 at 5:21 PM

    Your photo of the Miscanthus is fantastic! I love your compositions in the garden and on film.

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  4. Ardith FergusonOctober 24, 2024 at 5:22 PM

    Your photo of the Miscanthus is fantastic! I love your compositions in the garden and on film.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousOctober 27, 2024 at 6:30 PM


    Wonderful fall colors, Philip.
    How tall is your Stewartia pseudocamellia and how long did you have it?
    Chavli

    ReplyDelete
  6. RobinLOctober 31, 2024 at 4:30 PM

    Oh my goodness, I swoon from all this gorgeous fall color! But I am an absolute nut for autumn. Well done Phillip!

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