Category: Outing Reports

It was a perfect spring day on 25th April 2022 for travelling through Dorset to Dartmoor and Devon. Woodlands with fresh new leaves, and passing through small villages, farmland with lambs in the fields, then, finally arriving at the last castle to be built in England – Castle Drogo. It was built in 1910 for Julius Drewe on a remote Dartmoor hillside. The architect Edward Lutyens created an imaginative, romantic, and historic castle for the Drewe family. The Drewe descendants[…]

A group of us enjoyed the spring sunshine in our first visit of the year to Forde Abbey. Swathes of crocuses and daffodils naturalised in the grass enlivened the lawns in front of the Abbey while in the woodland arboretum several magnificent Magnolias, particularly M. sprengeri  impressed with their huge pink flowers. Another attractive seasonal element was a tapestry of blue anemones and cyclamen growing out of beech mast. As ever the Centenary fountain drew visitors at midday to view[…]

The final outing of 2021 to Killerton House was blessed by a beautiful sunny autumn day. Twenty five of us enjoyed the house, park and garden originally laid out by John Veitch, plantsman and landscape designer for it’s owners the Acland family. Veitch was in the forefront of the great drive to find and import exotic trees and shrubs from around the globe, which is why Killerton is host to plants from six continents. We saw the original mother-tree of[…]

In September 2021 the Club visited Oudolf Field designed by Piet Oudolf who has designed some of the most widely acclaimed gardens of this century and is still designing in his 70s (so hope for us all). Opened in 2014 Piet Oudolf Field, is a wonderful example of his work showcasing his masterly use of perennials and grasses. An inspiration to all gardeners and much appreciated by the members who visited it.

William, the owner of Iford Manor welcomed us with an overview of its history and Harold Peto’s transformation of this secluded Wiltshire valley to his vision of an Italian garden – with a Japanese portion. Troy, recently appointed as head gardener, led us through the Walled Garden, not generally open to the public, giving his insights on the history and planting with knowledge and enthusiasm. The terraces of the main garden are where Peto’s love of Italy is particularly evident,[…]