An organic garden with
a long circular walk in North West Devon

Bocombe Mill Cottage, Bocombe,
Near Clovelly, Devon
EX39 5PH

Phone:
01237 451293

Owners:
Chris Butler & David Burrows

Email: potting_shed at bocombe.co.uk

Tree Planting over the winter 2007 / 2008
We've continued our tree planting this last winter, adding many specimen trees to our growing collection. For example, after clearing a couple of coppiced Hazel we planted a Persian Ironwood tree (Parrotia persica) on the edge of the Shrubbery, along with an Acer griseum (Paper Bark Maple).
Several Acer capillipes (Snake Bark Maple) that we grew from seed have been planted out, along with a number of shade loving Abies procera (Noble Fir) also grown from seed at Bocombe.
Much further down the valley we've popped in a Coulter Pine (Pinus coulteri) which will add a huge amount of stature to the valley bottom, and quite close by, on the top of a bank, a Cedrus deodoara (Deodar Cedar)
Various home grown Norway Spruce (Picea abies) have been relocated to provide shelter from the strong south westerlies we enjoy, we're only just over a mile from the coast after all...

North Devon Journal reviews the Bocombe garden
"Little-known oasis is heaven on Earth" so leads the flattering article of last autumn from the North Devon Journal. Graham Andrews continues, "It is so peaceful that the only sounds are the rustle of leaves, the warble of birds and the whisper of water."
After a short introduction to the two garden owners Graham pronounces "For a real treat, take the circular walk of just under one mile. It's steep and soggy in parts, so wellies and a little stamina are worth taking with you. It's on this tour that you realise the glories and sounds of nature as you pass natural and man-made features...". "Hitting you between the eyes, depending on the season, are pieris and hemerocallis beds, a damson walk for shade lovers, two lakes, an orchard, a beech wood, a hydrangea slope, a magnolia walk, wild flower meadow with a host of specimen trees and tumbling stream and not forgetting a bluebell carpet in springtime."

Devon Country Gardener editor, Richard Shimell, tours the Bocombe garden
Devon Country Gardener's editor, Richard Shimell, wrote the lead article in the April issue of the magazine with the title "Valley Style", talking, of course, about the garden at Bocombe Mill Cottage. "You would be hard pressed to find a prettier or more sheltered spot." Richard enthuses, continuing "The garden is a mix of the wild and the cultivated: on the wild side there are boggy meadows, an old orchard and pasture, while the more cultivated parts include colour themed garden rooms, areas of unusual trees and a kitchen garden."
Richard takes the reader on the renowned Bocombe Mill Cottage circular walk, pointing out many (but in reality, of course, just a few) of the plant specimens on the way, such as "Rosa banksiae Lutea rests against a wall, accompanied by the honeysuckle Lonicera henryi." continuing later, ".....Rhododendron 'Vuyk's Scarlet', a purple leaved elder and red camellias. Alongside these are sedums, pink and white Rosa rugosa and the beautiful Viburnum plicatum 'Mariessii', which has tiers of white flowers in spring."

New Cedar Wood Greenhouse erected
During 2006 a new greenhouse was erected adjacent the soft fruit garden. This new, large space allowed the transfer of all plants needing protection away from the old aluminum greenhouse in the Kitchen Garden to the lighter and better ventilated site. The old greenhouse is now growing mainly members of the Cucurbita family that require a higher humidity than most greenhouse plants.