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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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Arbutus Gardens



As we were touring Renee Moog's garden, another visitor told me that I should go to Arbutus Garden Arts, which was just down the road. I had no idea we were close but it was a garden I was familiar with and always wanted to visit. A pleasant surprise!

Norm Jacobs is the owner, and he showed us around and answered questions. The garden is also a nursery and he propagates the plants. However, he says that he is in the process of retiring. My friend Linda bought an absolutely stunning weeping snowbell tree. I managed to discipline myself and only left with a groundcover, Erigeron pulchellus 'Meadow Muffin'.

The garden is stunning with winding pathways surrounded by packed borders of mostly conifers and Japanese maples.














I was enamored by the most beautiful specimen of Sourwood Tree (Oxydendrum arboreum). I have one that seems to be stunted, but Mr. Jacobs told me that they need space for their root zone and do not like competition. This could be my problem, as mine is surrounded by other plants.



Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. AnonymousAugust 28, 2025 at 10:22 AM

    I really need to get down there! It keeps slipping off my radar.
    However, I've got to say that your restraint was admirable, but possibly misplaced when the nursery owner of a stunning garden says he's trying to retire....

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  2. Kris PetersonAugust 28, 2025 at 1:02 PM

    The crevice garden in the third photo is interesting and creative. I hope Mr Jacobs has passed his expertise in propagating trees on to others - he looks to be a master at it.

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  3. tz_gardenSeptember 2, 2025 at 8:45 AM

    So pristine, and layered expertly. I'm off to look up that meadow muffin.

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