Exploring the garden in summer

The rill garden in flower at Coleton Fishacre

Summer is a beautiful time to explore Coleton Fishacre garden. Banks and borders are filled with bright swathes of colour and the exotic planting comes into its own, all against a backdrop of tree tops and sea views.

The pictorial meadow

An annual flower mix has been planted beside the café with a blend of native and non-native annuals. These were selected for their vibrant mix of flowers, and have previously been planted in front of Visitor Reception. Some of the flowers are cultivated varieties and will not come ‘true to type’ if left to seed, so we sew a new batch each year to keep the display at a high standard.

The pictorial meadow border is in bloom at the entrance to Coleton Fishacre
Poppies flowering in the pictorial meadow border at Coleton Fishacre
The pictorial meadow border is in bloom at the entrance to Coleton Fishacre

 

Kent's Border

The border closest to the house has been the focus of a project over the past couple of years. The garden team initially stripped out all of the old planting (replanting everything from that border in other places in the garden) and spent some time giving the soil some TLC. Kent's Border now has a new planting scheme in the Arts and Crafts style, which will continue to evolve over the coming months.

 

The Rill Garden

The walled garden where the small stream (or rill) runs through the centre is a place of tranquillity in summer. Soft colours fill the walled garden as annuals, perennials and roses present a fragrant patchwork of pastel hues. 

 

The Hot Border

In front of the house the Hot Border is filled with flowers in fiery shades of reds and oranges, creating a ‘firework’ effect of upward pointing flowers in hot colours. Just some of the vibrant flowering plants include alstroemeria, cannas, dahlias, crocosmia, kniphofia and a selection of salvias.

The hot border is filled with fiery colours
The hot border in front of the house filled with red and orange flowers
The hot border is filled with fiery colours

 

Wellington's Wall

The wall bordering the lawn next to the house is a riot of yellows and blues as argyranthemum mederense, lithodora ‘Heavenly Blue’, rosemary, and euryops chrysanthemoides are all in flower now. A backdrop of olive trees and silvery-foliaged lavender, convolvulus and helichrysum provide a distinctly Mediterranean feel.

 

The Gazebo border

The Gazebo has been fitted with new benches and back rests, all funded by money raised through raffle ticket sales. Take a seat here and soak up the views of callistemon, grevillea, banksia, Libertia formosa and embothrium coccineum which provide a taste of the southern hemisphere. The statuesque echium pininana from the Canary Islands is a magnet for butterflies, and the pink Lampranthus multiradiatus give vivid pops of colour. 

 

Finding out more about the garden

A member of the garden team leads either a garden walk or talk every day at 2pm. They begin at the end of the courtyard, by the pictorial meadow border. The walk lasts about 45 minutes, covering the history of the garden and the seasonal highlights, and the talks last about 15 minutes. The garden team have also created plant lists for a selection of different borders in the garden. They detail the plants in the borders with notes about the key plants, so that you can recreate the planting schemes at home. These plant list are available for a donation; every penny you give helps to care for Coleton Fishacre garden.