The Garden House

Garden opens in February for Snowdrop Weekends

Brian Byng — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:08:41 +0000

Starting 4 & 5 February, we will open each weekend in February (11 am – 4.00 pm) so that visitors can enjoy the large collection of Snowdrop varieties and other early spring bulbs. The Tearoom will also be open – limited menu

Tickets now on sale 2012 Fortescue Garden House Lecture – Friday 30 March 7.00 pm

Brian Byng — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:06:22 +0000

We are delighted to announce that Tony Kirkham, the eminent arboriculturist and Head of Arboretum at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, will be delivering next year’s Lecture at the Plymouth Postgraduate Medical Centre, Derriford.

The exciting title is ‘Inspirational Trees and Tree People’.

Tickets: £14 (to include celebratory glass of wine).

To book: Tel. 01822 854769.

Carol Klein plants first tree in Jubilee Arboretum

Brian Byng — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:22:07 +0000

The much-loved horticulturist and TV presenter, who is a Patron of The Garden House Jubilee Appeal, planted the first tree at the entrance to the Jubilee Arboretum site on Friday 28 October. Carol was welcomed by Chris Brickell, the distinguished botanist, author and former Director-General of the RHS and thanked by Sir Robin Nicholson FRS, Chairman of the Fortescue Garden Trust. The selected tree is a Betula utilis ‘Buckland’, chosen for its beautiful glowing creamy-orange stem in winter.

Work on the Arboretum will continue over the winter, and it is hoped the Arboretum will open to the public shortly afterwards.

Date for 2012 Snowdrop Study Day

Brian Byng — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:14:04 +0000

Following the success of this year’s inaugural Snowdrop Study Day, we have set Thursday 9 February as the day on which we will hold our second event. Speakers will be Matt Bishop (New Cultivar Developments) and Jeorg Lebsa (Snowdrops in the Wild). An expert panel will also facilitate a Q & A Forum at the end of the morning. Following lunch, there will be a tour of the Snowdrop garden as well as a sale of bulbs. Tickets £69 (includes lunch).

Please Tel. 01822 854769 for further details and to book.

Centrepiece of Golden Jubilee Appeal to be new 2-acre Arboretum

Brian Byng — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 11:25:00 +0000

These are exciting times at The Garden House. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Fortescue Garden Trust, the small charity which owns and administers the Garden, the Trustees are embarking on an ambitious plan to enhance even more a garden which has been described by commentators as ‘a horticultural masterpiece.’
Sue Allen, a Trustee, says ‘In the past 50 years The Garden House has been not only a place of beauty for so many to enjoy, but an ever changing, evolving, dynamic environment. The plans and projects that are being put into place will have great effect, the benefits of which will be seen and enjoyed for the next 50 years.’ (To learn more about the plans and how to support the Appeal, see Golden Jubilee Leaflet on Home page).
A new Arboretum is to be created on the site of t he former nursery, east of the Walled Garden. It will contain more than a hundred new trees, many of them recent introductions from the temperate zones of the world, all carefully selected for their interest and impact throughout the seasons. Trees will be planted in the autumn of 2011 and the Arboretum will open to the public in 2012.