Gardens to visit

north devon gardens to visit

The mild climate of the west country provides an wonderful opportunity for seeing plants not grown in other parts of the UK. While on holiday in north devon why not visit one or more of these lovely gardens.

ROSEMOOR - A garden for gardeners, often featured on TV. Displaying a stunning variety of garden styles, maturity, and planting with all year round interest, Rosemoor is rapidly evolving into a garden of national importance. Its 40 acres are designed to delight and inspire a wide range of visitors, from the novice to the professional, and its fascinating explorer trails are popular with children.

The Fame of 2000 roses in 200 varieties is spreading - and rightly so, for they are truly a magnificent sight. There are beds of tender perennials, a quarter of a mile of herbaceous borders; contrasting beds of hot and cool colours, a newly planted Winter Garden and spectacular Plantsman's and Foliage Garden with its bamboos, grasses and carefully selected shrubs of fine architectural form. There is a stream that rushes through a 'new' rock gorge planted with ferns and bamboos, then meanders through the bog garden before tumbling down into a magnificent lake.

TAPELEY PARK GARDENS -

With its four distinctly different themed areas set in a twenty acre site, Tapeley Gardens are home to a rich and fascinating variety of flowers, trees, shrubs and vegetables.

The well known terraced Italian garden, created by Lady Rosamond Christie in the late 19th century, have recently been restored by Mary Keen and Carol Kleins. They now brim with new scents and colours, complimenting the existing rare and tender plants. This, with the stunning views, woodlands and lakes, walled kitchen garden and dairy tea rooms, plant sales and childrens play area make for an extensive and uplifting day.

Hartland Abbey lies across a beautiful, sheltered valley by a small trout stream, only a miles walk from a spectacular Atlantic Cove. From 1157-1539 the Augustinian Canons lived and gardened in this hidden paradise. In the 18th Century shrub gardens were created either side of the abbey with a woodland walk to the walled kitchen gardens.

The winding paths in the Baronet's Bog garden, designed by Gertrude Jekll and until recently hidden by undergrowth, lead to the newly discovered Victorian Fernery and the charming secret walled garden. Being an informal mixture of tender and rare plants, summer perennials, shrubs and vegetables for the house, they are pretty in all seasons. The woodland walk to the beach is a carpet of wildflowers in spring.

Marwood Hill Gardens is the end result of the owner's passion over 50 years collecting an enormous number of trees and shrubs, many of them very rare, together with many herbaceous and alpine plants. These have now matured and every season sees an exuberance of flower with large collections of Camellias and Magnolias in Spring with a mass under planting of Snowdrops and Daffodils.

A succession of dramatic Himalayan and other species Rhododendrons and a great variety of flowering trees take us through into summer.

The three lakes, linked by the biggest bog garden in the west are alive with ducks and multi-coloured carp.

DOCTON MILL - Less than a mile from the sea, nestling in one of Devon's outstanding beauty spots lies Docton Mill. The mill itself, mentioned in the Doomsday Book, has been restored along with its waterways and now generates electricity for the house.

The internationally renowned garden blends with natural landscape. Eight acres of sheltered wooded valley with millpond, leats, trout stream crossed by footbridges and smaller streams. The encompassing bog garden is exceptional.

Docton is situated close to the famous Spekes Mill waterfall and to Hartland Quay with its fascinating rock formations.