| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Leader: | |
| When: | Third Thursday of the month |
| Venue: | Out and About |
New members are always very welcome.
Our first visiting speaker coming to Fremington Methodist Church Hall on October 15th to talk about 'The Winter Garden' and we want a bumper audience to welcome Alan French
On Thursday September 17th we are returning to Marwood Hill Garden to enjoy its autumn colour and to see how it has coped with the arid summer.
We will meet in the top car park at Guineaford, Barnstaple, EX31 4EA, at 10.30am and have arranged for a talk from gardeners Malcolm or Danny who will tell us about the key plants in the garden at this time of year.
The cost of entry is £8.50, to be paid on the day. And delicious light lunches are available in the tea room.
Please let David Green know if you wish to come to this wonderful garden by emailing him on davidgreen260947@gmail.com so that we can alert our hosts.
On Thursday, 20 August, 19 members of the Practical Gardening Group travelled to Ron and Yvonne Bimson’s stunning 'Dahlia Paradise' in Lake.
The couple embrace the labour-intensive aspect of gardening, evident during our guided tour: the preparation for growing dahlias starts with Ron’s pride in his carefully produced compost and the clever use of wooden posts and ironwork frames to support he plants; he says daily deadheading is the secret to numerous blooms and this takes several hours each day. Water is obtained from a source across the road and the containers are carried by wheelbarrow to the dahlia beds. Thousands of litres were used this summer, as you can imagine.
Our group marvelled at the dedication displayed by the pair – and we mustn’t forget the cream tea on the patio that summed up a perfect morning.
A small group recently visited the Taunton Flower Show. This started in 1831 and is the oldest such event in the UK so some of the PGG set off for this year’s event on Saturday, 8 August, full of expectations. The main arena offered falconer and horse trainer Jonathan Marshall, dangerous Steve on his motor bikes, Meiron Owen and his sheepdogs – and several more.
In the Floral Marquee there were stunning exhibits, with the Monkton Elm Garden Centre display taking pride of place. An informative Gardeners’ Question Time on the Bellman Memorial Stage helped visitors with advice about dealing with the current drought and the Plant Village provided numerous plants for visitors to purchase.
It was good to see North Devon fully represented by Gardeners’ Delight Nursery, Millward Plants and Taw Valley Organics – and not forgetting the Barnstaple Youth Marching Band in the arena. There was plenty to see so let’s hope fears that this might be the last show are unfounded.
On Thursday July 16th the Practical Gardening Group went to Tapeley Park gardens, near Instow.
The estate has been in the hands of the Christie family since the late nineteenth century and has stunning views of the Torridge estuary. The ethos is on sustainability so the permaculture garden features companion planting of mainly herbs and vegetables interspersed with the bright reds of crocosmia, all of which attract abundant wildlife.
With formal terraces, woodland, a labyrinth and a lake surrounded by hydrangeas in every shade of blue, there was plenty to enjoy in the sunshine.
The Practical Gardening Group visited Taw Organic Plant Nursery near Tawstock on 21 May. The 18 acre site has been developed over 7/8 years by just three full-time staff and includes a large polytunnel, two greenhouses, an ever-expanding number of plant beds, a pond and an impressive orchard. David and Liz were delightful hosts and outlined ambitious plans for the future, including a vegetable growing area. The plants were in immaculate condition and our members were not slow to buy some. The nursery is open on Saturdays (or by appointment) and purchases can also be made online.
Well worth a visit, and website address: www.tawvalleyorganics.com
In June we will be visiting East Woodlands Farmhouse in Alverdiscott, Newton Tracey - for more details, see our programme on the website.
Finally, new members are always welcome to join us - just contact one of us.
Andy Jones & David Green
Following our April visit to Upper Gorwell House & Gardens, here is our report for the next newsletter & website:
On 16 April, 13 members of the Practical Gardening Group visited Dr John Marston’s Upper Gorwell House garden overlooking the River Taw estuary in Barnstaple.
After retirement as a local GP and with little previous experience of gardening, he started in 1977 to develop a four acre garden, full of exotic and unusual plants which thrived in the maritime microclimate. He planted all the trees himself, including magnolias, horse chestnuts and cedars, and during our tour could remember the date he planted them and from where he obtained them! He almost seemed to greet each tree or mature shrub as an old friend he had nurtured into adulthood. It was just a memorable afternoon.
PS there are NGS Open Days on: 17 May, 21 June, 19 July & 13 September.
On Thursday, 19 March 2026, twelve members of the Practical Gardening Group visited Rosemoor RHS Garden. A perfect Spring morning of blue skies and warm sunshine greeted our group and the garden was at its most welcoming. Much winter damaged foliage on perennial plants had been tidied up, many beds had been liberally mulched and the hedges were clipped immaculately. At this time of year there is an opportunity to see the huge variety of daffodils and other bulbs that take pride of place before their companion plants come into full leaf. The morning ended with a light lunch, seated outside in the sunshine. To cap it all, some property mislaid by one of our members was promptly retrieved by garden staff and duly returned to the relieved owner. It summed up a really pleasant and positive start to our gardening year.
Our next meeting on April 16th is a visit to Upper Gorwell House, Goodleigh Road, Barnstaple, a 4 acre garden with its own microclimate with many rare & tender plants.
New members are most welcome to join us.
David Green & Andy Jones
October 2025
Damp weather and a road closure meant that only a small group of Practical Gardening members managed to get to Rosemoor RHS Garden on October 30th.
Nevertheless, there was a surprising amount of colour to enjoy, particularly from the dahlias as we walked round, although a camellia in full bloom close to the entrance was probably the star attraction.
The group enjoyed their stroll around the garden and were in even better spirits during a delicious lunch in the restaurant.
-o0o-
As regards our ‘End of Term’ get together, that will now be on WEDNESDAY 26th November at the Fremington Methodist Church Hall, as last year.
Sadly, the hall was not available on the Thursday.
-o0o-
September 2025
September saw 16 members spend a delightful morning at the home in Lake of Ron & Yvonne Bimson, which has been called "Dahlia Paradise".
With 150 varieties of dahlia displaying a full range of colours, and requiring daily picking/deadheading, we were not disappointed.
The entire garden was immaculate and a cream tea capped a lovely morning in the autumn sunshine. I'm sure we'll be back soon!
August 2025
We visited the NGS garden made by Dawn and Steve in Yelland that was featured on BBC Gardeners' World last year.
Twenty four members of the PGG braved the showery weather to visit Steve and Dawn Morgan’s remarkable garden in Yelland. In a relatively small area they have produced a garden full of exotic and tropical plants that often tower above their visitors: cannas, bananas, gingers and an amazing range of passion flowers fill the prepared beds and the large cedar wood greenhouse. There are several varieties of rudbeckia, salvias and some gorgeous dahlias added to the kaleidoscope of colour.
The owners clearly love cultivating and hybridizing their plants and were only too willing to offer information and advice to our group. It was a memorable visit – finished off nicely with a cream tea!
July 2025
Nine members of the PGG enjoyed a warm and generally sunny day attending the Taunton Flower Show using the excellent Park and Ride facility which required only a short walk to Vivary Park.
The Show was busy without being uncomfortably crowded and provided plenty to see and hear. The huge Competition Marquee contained some extremely high quality entrants in the many categories of flower and vegetable arrangements.
There were plants to buy, an array of retail outlets, an artisan village containing some tasty and unusual food and an arena which entertained an appreciative audience, including our very own Barnstaple Youth Marching Band who did Devon proud.
June 2025
Our meeting, on the 26th, was a visit and guided tour at Quince Honey Farm, South Molton.
May 2025
Our meeting was at group member Geraldine Eacott’s garden in Sticklepath.
Tea and coffee and delicious home made cake got the morning off to an excellent start before we were given a guided tour of her beautiful garden, which included a wide range of beautiful and interesting plants and shrubs and impressive vegetables and soft fruit.
