A Secret Garden

The day started with a booster Covid jab.
In the afternoon we went with our Curious Club members to visit a secret garden just outside Newton Abbott. Completed in 1912 for Arthur Smith Graham, a wealthy man, the garden design was influenced by the Edwardian fashion for Italianate gardens.

The secluded location was chosen for a specific client who could not create a flamboyant, open to all garden because of his homosexuality. The garden provided the setting and facilities for Graham and his friends to socialise and relax together without restraint - which would otherwise have not been possible in mixed society.

The garden includes a number of buildings and structures of unusual design which are integral to the experience of the garden - a long pergola, an observatory at the summit of the garden, a swimming pool, (as above), as well as a plunge pool, rills, walkways and a tennis court.

Despite decades of neglect, the garden remains remarkably close to its original design because of the survival of the original layout and features.

Since reclaimed by nature, it is now being gently restored by a team of enthusiastic volunteers with support from the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
Felt very privileged to visit it.

https://www.theitaliangarden.org/

A badger visited our little garden last night.