Hello garden lovers and greetings from my self isolation at Killabakh, following my earlier than planned return from a gardening holiday in England due to this dreadful COVID-19 virus.
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I flew into London's Heathrow Airport early March, picked up a car and headed to the little town of Godalming in Surrey. It is very early spring in the UK at this time and the meadows were brimming with daffodils and crocus and the verges with primrose and cyclamen. A real treat was a visit to nearby Munstead Wood, the famed garden of Gertrude Jekyll whose influence on gardening from the late 19th century onwards was immense. Head gardener and friend Annabel Watts gave me an extensive tour of the gardens including the newly restored azalea garden and woodland. Although at times pouring with rain, it was still a magical experience.
Back to Heathrow to pick up American friend Linda and over to Devon for a week - staying in an old Georgian cottage in the grounds of the ancient Tiverton Castle.
A highlight of the week was a visit to the majestic and eerie Dartmoor - with its windswept heather clad hills, ancient woodlands, rushing streams, picturesque villages and topped off by lofty granite tors or hilltops. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle drew inspiration from Dartmoor and made it the setting for his most famous Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. I clambered around the desolate landscape, braving the howling wind and persistent rain to see first hand the rugged beauty and stunning views that make this part of the country so special. It does help that the pretty villages all have a cosy warm pub and serve the best roast meal on a Sunday!
Another highlight was a visit to the home of another literary giant in the detective and crime genre, Agatha Christie's Greenway. An impressive 18th century house overlooking the River Dart, surrounded by acres of wooded gardens. The magnolias, azaleas and camellias were lighting up the canopy in every shade of pink and the lawns were aglow with daffodils and primrose. Agatha Christie was an avid collector and the house is jam packed with her treasures. Greenway is also the setting for her Hercule Poirot novel Dead Man's Folly, with many of the locations easily identifiable.
Devon's gardens on the whole were only just waking up but visits to Knightshayes Court, Coleton Fishacre, Dunster Castle and The Garden House were rewarded with rich displays of hellebores, snowflakes, hyacinths and bergenia.
The weather for the week was a mixed bag of sun, showers, wind and sleet! A good excuse to stay indoors, rummage through the antique centres, old book shops and huddle up in a cosy café devouring what else but ... Devonshire teas!
Happy gardening,
George
George Hoad is the president of the Gardening Clubs of Australia