Sunny Devon

We've just had a wonderful four day break in a very sunny Devon. Despite all the forecasts to the contrary the sun shone all the time. It was a bit breezy at times but when the wind dropped it was like midsummer. Timing coincided with the end of the Devon Artists Open Studio fortnight but we only managed to see a few, crammed inbetween forays to the coast and to inland places to we wanted to revisit. Top of the list was Rosemoor, the RHS garden in North Devon which we last visited about 6 or 7 years ago. A lot has changed, making it even more of a stunning garden, if that was possible. The hot borders were zinging with coreopsis, rudbeckias, dahlias, monardas and salvias. The colours were all hot yellows and vibrant purples, rusty reds and smoky blues plus the added texture of grasses.

There were lots of butterflies around the hot borders. I made notes of all the plants I'd love to feature large in our own garden. I lost count of the times we realised we already had some of them but it was the scale at Rosemoor that made all the difference. To make the same impact I'd need to propogate our current stock to a factor of ten I think!

There is something there for every type of gardener, whether you love perennials, grasses, trees or vegetables. I loved these dribbling cones. Guess whose memory card on the camera filled up with too many photos of seedheads, unusual tree barks and colour combinations?

After the hot bed my favourite place was the vegetable garden. It was heartening to talk to one of the many volunteers there who was tidying up the beans. They'd been hit by rabbits. If the RHS can be struck by the furry marauders too it gave me hope for our little veg patch, a favourite of the local chapter of the Watership Down fan club.

If I could have had just one thing from Rosemoor it would have been this Cobea Scandens. I have tried to grow this so many times without success. I can get the seeds to germinate and start off but whenever I plant it out, it fails to thrive. I treat it as a half hardy annual but at Rosemoor it is perennial. The stems are thick and healthy and the flowers are a lustrous deep purple. If anyone out there has any tips for this please share. One day.... one day.....

We nipped off to Bude after leaving Rosemoor, leaving Devon for a swift sojourn into Cornwall for the late afternoon and evening. It was a glorious evening and we found a great place to eat outside and enjoy the scenery. I have been catching up with other blog posts this morning and read a special one from Jane which talks about those special moments that are timeless. We had one of those in Bude on this evening. Just sitting there in the warm of the evening with someone you treasure was just lovely. It felt like time was standing still. I never wanted the moment to end.

Interspersed with the sightseeing and walking were the visits to the open studio artists. My favourite was Jane Perkins who was exhibiting in a great cafe in Topsham so you could eat cake (lots of it) and drink tea (lots of it) whilst staring at her amazing work. Please visit here to see more. These images are made up of thousands of bits of plastic. Jane uses recycled materials like old beads, plastic toys, old watches etc to replicate well known faces or works of art. You had to see this 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' to believe it. All of the tones are created by choosing the right colour plastic piece. Each one takes about three weeks and I met Jane yesterday morning when we went back for a second look... and more cake... She says she loves every bit of the process from sourcing the pieces through charity shops etc to the making. Such ingenuity was inspiring.

I also found a couple of printmakers and managed to catch the opening preview of a new calligraphy exhibition at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen in Bovey Tracey. On our way home I also visited the studios of Clare Schmidt Norris and Rachel and Mary Sumner. All were inspirational in their own way and well worth a look through their portfolios.

The downside of course is that all good things come to an end. We've had a fantastic two weeks holiday but my young man has to return to the grindstone tomorrow and I am meant to be joining my foundation course. As it has already been going for two weeks I am starting late because of my holiday. All of a sudden I don't want to do it and I'm trying to remember all the reasons why I thought it was a good idea! Oh crikey, what to do?