Nestled into the rolling countryside of Dartmoor National Park, The Garden House at Buckland Monachorum is one of Devon’s finest hidden gems.
The site’s history dates back to 1305 when the Abbot at nearby Buckland Abbey used it to build a house for the parish priest.
The garden has a rich story to explore but it also has an elegant, contemporary feel. It’s comprised of 10 acres, complete with decorative borders, an arboretum, and formal lawns.
Current head gardener Nick Haworth continues to safeguard and build upon the legacy of its former owners, Lionel and Katharine Fortescue, as well as its talented previous head gardeners including Keith Wiley and Matt Bishop.
Autumn can be a rather drizzly season but if you dare to venture beyond your kitchen window, there is so much beauty that nature has to offer. The Garden House is a glorious cornucopia of autumnal treasures, boasting colour from the treetops to the soil.
The Acer Glade is the star of the show, reaching its pinnacle performance in mid to late October. With previous head gardener Keith Wiley’s expert craftsmanship, the landscape funnels down from the glowing stones of the Magic Circle to a crowd of Acer trees at the foot of the slope; a bustling array of leaves in all hues of red, orange, and yellow. The meandering pathways and the rill’s soft trickle of water completes the glade’s enveloping charm.
Stroll through the Summer Garden, with its tactile grasses and warm colour palette, and you will arrive in the tranquil haven of the Cottage Garden.
A wooden bench sits tucked into the corner of a dry stone wall feature and beckons a quiet bookworm or a contemplative mind. Sit here and you will be encompassed by soft mosses and ferns, with a view out across the rolling hills of the moor and the church of Buckland Monachorum. Dainty seed heads dance in the breeze, as if composing a soft melody that feels alive yet peaceful.
As the afternoon light descends, each intricate fibre of the Calamagrostis brachytricha (Korean feather grass) is bathed in liquid gold, a contrast to the enchanting purple and pink shades of asters.
The Walled Garden is still in its prime through early autumn. Dahlia coccinea var. palmeri stands to attention along the edges of the lawn carpet, displaying a spray of vivid red-orange single blooms. Many other dahlia varieties also decorate the borders, including favourites Dahlia ‘Blue Bayou’, Dahlia ‘David Howard’ and a peculiar little plant Cosmos x Dahlia ‘Mexican Black’. And yet, this is not the end of The Walled Garden’s colourful curiosities! Even after the last dahlia has lost its petals, the blue finger-like fruits of Decaisnea fargesii (known as ‘Dead man’s fingers’) are preparing for Halloween.
As you emerge from the Walled Garden, enjoy the tranquility of the Arboretum. Autumn is a beautiful time of the year to appreciate the wide variety of trees in this space, all displaying vibrant leaf colours and delicate fruits. Acer palmatum ‘Eddisbury’ and the Liquidambar trees put on a spectacular inferno of colour, and Malus ‘Indian Magic’ is a sight to behold with its shiny red fruits adorned with raindrops.
And to complete your journey through The Garden House, there’s the opportunity to have a warming beverage or sweet treat in the tearoom. You’ll be walking away with a smile!
Chloe is a Professional Gardeners’ Guild student studying horticulture at The Garden House.
@chloequeenofspades
The Garden House is open throughout the year, with opening times altering depending on the season. Details on dates and timings, as well as upcoming events and workshops, are on the website.
A garden legacy
The Garden House is the former home of the vicars of Buckland Monachorum. The current house was built in the early 19th century and now houses the tearooms and offices.
The site’s history is closely entwined with that of Buckland Abbey and the local church. In 1305 the abbot built a house for the parish priest on the site and by the early 1700s the vicarage consisted of a substantial three-storey dwelling. The remains of this building, a tower with spiral staircase and a thatched barn, formerly the kitchen, are now the romantic ruins on the lower terrace in the walled garden.
A modern vicarage was built in the 1920s and The Garden House was sold as a private dwelling. The house came on to the market again just after the Second World War and was bought by Lionel and Katharine Fortescue.
The couple developed the garden and appointed Keith Wiley as head gardener. Keith spent 25 years shaping and enlarging the garden, before he left in 2003 to create a new nursery, Wildside Plants.
Matt Bishop took on the role and left a legacy of large numbers and varieties of snowdrops and bulbs. After Matt left in 2012 to set up his own business, Matt Bishop Snowdrops,
Nick Haworth took over in 2013, coming to The Garden House from his role as head gardener at the National Trust property Greenaway.
