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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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Home Again - Hello Roses

'Crown Princess Margarita'

I'm back home after a three week garden tour of the Cornwall region of England. It was phenomenal and I'll be sharing photos from the trip later. I got back home to an explosion of growth and bloom in our garden. I was grateful that we received some rain and so was Michael, who didn't have to do a great deal of watering.

This is my favorite time of year when the garden bursts into bloom and everything is fresh and unblemished.

The roses are especially a treat right now. 

'Cornelia'


'Lady Emma Hamitlon'

'Lamarque'

'Marchesa Boccella'

'Mutabilis'

'Playboy'

'Purple Pavement'

'Radway Sunrise'

'Darcey Bussell'

'Golden Celebration'

'The Impressionist'



'Lady of Shallot'

'Buff Beauty'


'Julia Child' & 'The Impressionist'

'Sunny Eleganza'

'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Barbara H.May 26, 2025 at 6:07 AM

    That was truly the trip of a lifetime! Thanks for all the sharing. Your roses are splendid, but of course that doesn't surprise me.

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  2. tz_gardenMay 26, 2025 at 8:09 AM

    3 weeks! I didn't realize you were there that long, how fantastic! How lucky you were to get rain and come home to all that gorgeousness. I can't pick a favorite rose, they are all lovely -hmm, but I am drawn to 'Lady of Shallot'. Welcome home. :)

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverMay 29, 2025 at 10:08 AM

      'Lady of Shallot' is one of my all-time favorites.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousMay 26, 2025 at 8:51 AM

    I love the care you take in selecting some really great roses, and then you grow them so wonderfully. Really superb!

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  4. Linda's Relaxing LairMay 26, 2025 at 12:01 PM

    Gorgeous captures.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kris PetersonMay 26, 2025 at 12:05 PM

    I love the roses - and the IG posts you shared of your trip! I look forward to seeing more on your Cornwall tour in future blog posts.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMay 28, 2025 at 10:54 AM

    A feast for the eyes!

    ReplyDelete
  7. hbMay 29, 2025 at 10:05 AM

    3 weeks in Cornwall--wow must have been awesome. Skipped Chelsea?

    I expected a rosy treat by the title, and was not disappointed. The roses welcomed you home--how great is that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverMay 29, 2025 at 10:09 AM

      I didn't skip Chelsea. It was the grand finale to the trip.

      Delete

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