Wildside (Devon, England)

After departing The Garden House, we traveled just a mile or two to Wildside, the current home of Keith Wiley. He worked as Head Gardener at The Garden House from 1978 to 2003. Following that, he purchased his own property and set about creating this garden.

An astounding feat of landscape architecture, it began as a flat, 3-acre field (you can see a photo on their website). It is now a terrain of hillsides, valleys, canyons and streams. At the top of the property, you can look down at the roadside 25-feet below where it was once level ground. It is mind-boggling, and I couldn't quite wrap my brain around it all. Wiley estimates that he has moved around 100,000 tons of earth using a mini excavator, a dump truck, wheel barrows and buckets. 

There are 3 areas of the garden - the lower garden, the courtyard and the canyons. I have too many photos for one post so I will focus on the lower garden first and cover the courtyard and canyons in the next installment. 

The house sits in the center of the property and we gathered here as Keith told us about the garden. His artist wife, Ros, passed away in 2019 and some of her lovely paintings were displayed here.

After the talk, we were free to wander as we wished. The Lower Garden lies downhill from the house, forming a valley. Winding pathways lead you among berms and hillsides planted with trees (magnolias, Japanese maples), that appear taller because of the elevation. 

Large vistas of wildflowers and perennials blend together to create a beautiful tapestry -

There are many streams as well as boggy areas - 

Rocky berms and crevices -

There were also many shade areas with lovely vignettes -

From the bottom, looking up the hill toward the house (again, this was once flat!) -

In the next post, the Courtyard and Canyons which are quite different.

(Visited May 13, 2005)

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy