Alex and I made the most of the sunny weather by visiting The Garden House, a ten acre garden near Yelverton, in Devon.
The original house was built for the vicars of the parish, including the former Abbot of Buckland Abbey, who became vicar after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s. A modern vicarage was built in the 1920s and The Garden House was sold as a private dwelling.
When the house and gardens came on to the market again in the 1940s, they were purchased by Lionel and Katharine Fortescue, who created the gardens whilst running a thriving market garden business. After their deaths, the Garden House was bequeathed to a charity to maintain their legacy.
The Garden House features both naturalistic planting and more traditional arrangements, making it a beautifully varied place to visit.
Here’s a sample of what was on offer (click to enlarge):
Wai-Yuk Kennedy Textile Art 