Skip to main content

Featured

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...
2 comments
Read more

March Treasures

Camellia 'Magnoliaflora' and Pieris 'Valley Rose'

Buds are budding, flowers are emerging, and the garden is getting greener. Excitement builds! It seems like it is all happening too soon and that is probably the case since the winter has been so mild. There are also mutterings about a "false spring" which is certainly understandable. It is not uncommon here to get a big snow in April. It has happened many times since we've lived here. 

Proceed with caution...

I would not dream of putting any delicate plants out yet so they will remain in the garage. However, there is a flurry of activities that needs to be done. Rose pruning, cutting back perennials and grasses, transplanting, etc. etc. 

It is all worth it - the garden rewards -

Crocus


Daffodils


Anenome

Hellebore

Camellia 'Donation'

Euphorbia wulfenii

Tree Heath (Erica arborea)

Hebe 'Pretty in Pink'

Pieris 'Valley Rose'

Pieris 'Passion Frost'

And last, but certainly not least, is the Azara which is just spectacular this year. I've never seen so many blooms. The garden is filled with the fragrance, which to me, smells like cigars. Some describe it as vanilla or a cake baking in the oven. However you describe it, it is divine.

Azara microphylla



Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
Email Post

Comments

  1. Kris PetersonMarch 13, 2025 at 8:01 AM

    Your garden is looking lovely, Phillip! Your Camellia 'Magnoliaflora' looks a lot like my 'Taylor's Perfection'; however, mine is already nearing the end of its bloom cycle. I wish I could grow Pieris - that's a perfect companion for the Camellia. Fingers crossed you don't get a snowstorm in April!

    ReplyDelete
  2. HBMarch 13, 2025 at 2:03 PM

    The garden rewards--yours especially! Beautiful Azara--without fragrance a garden seems incomplete--and the Camellias, Pieris, and the Hebes, and the Hellebores. Happy close-to-spring!

    ReplyDelete
  3. tz_gardenMarch 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM

    Like you, I love this time of year. Your Pieris 'Valley Rose' is gorgeous, with and without the Camellia. Looking forward to more spring posts.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 19, 2025 at 8:23 AM

    Your Azara blooms appear orange in the photo. Is that truly their color? Because mine are definitely yellow (and smelling like chocolate cake!)
    Chavi

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment