Gardens and Gateaux 2019

We visit various gardens which are open for Charity; most of them are found in the ‘National Garden Scheme’ booklet.

Gardens & Gateaux  group had a wonderful time visiting the village of Abbotskerswell.   It is a delightful village with some quirky gardens.

All the gardens were very different, some small with unusual plants; one spectacular large garden, beautifully kept  with a wonderful display of roses, foxgloves and peonies, plus a meandering stream, just perfect!

Teas & delicious cakes were served in the village hall, it was heart warming to see the village pulling together to put on this event and raise money for charity. Apparently the villagers meet for a meal in the village hall in the evening, to count the total for charity and congratulate each other on a job well done. Village life at it’s best still survives in parts of Devon!

Then on Saturday 22nd June it was the Teignmouth gardens, with several new gardens open this year, plus many old favourites.

One newly opened  cottage garden was delightful, with many unusual plants and the luxury of the little Bitton Brook running through the garden. We were fortunate to see a dragonfly emerge from its nymph stage to eventually fly off over the roof, a real bonus!

If you look at the Gardens and Gateaux web page you will see some of our garden photos.

Teas were wonderful as usual at High Tor, and much appreciated, served in the bee and butterfly friendly garden overlooking the sea.

We visited local gardens in July.

High Garden was perfect for a walk on a sunny summer’s day, it is set in about 5 acres and in many ways is a display garden, just great for plant lovers.
The deep double herbaceous borders were most impressive, being about 70 metres in length!
We helped ourselves to delicious homemade cakes and tea, then sat in the shade of trees , absolutely delightful.
As a bonus the nursery is excellent, having numerous plants/trees for sale at reasonable prices.

Squirrels in Torquay was a one off!
Showing what can be done in a relatively small garden, with passion and attention to detail.There were many tender plants including bananas, tree fern, lantanas and oleanders.
Also vast collections of fuchsia, abutilons, bourgainvilleas and numerous varieties of clematis.
The owner was telling us that he has created a micro climate where peach trees, figs and kiwis thrive.
Certainly the peaches looked delicious.
Overall a very colourful and memorable garden.

Many of our group are on holiday or have family to stay during August.

We will post any future garden visits on the  ‘Gardens & Gateaux’ website.

A visit to Bicton is still planned for the future, contact me if you’re interested in a visit.

I will send an email to members whose emails I have nearer the time. Or you can email me at:  enquiries@u3a.dawlish.info or via the U3A Contact form

If anyone needs more information please contact me Jan May

We usually share cars, so if you can offer to drive please let us know, so that we have a list of potential drivers. However, Teignmouth is accessible by walking or public transport.