The Home & Garden Show 2016

In early June, our normally quiet and serene gardens became a hive of activity. Delightful assortments of plants and flowers were unloaded and carried down to their stalls, stretching out like delicate little rainbows across the lawns. Kettles were boiled, cakes baked and Big Pan Parties delicious creations filled the air with appetite inducing deliciousness. Highly talented local artists, food producers and green fingered folk unpacked their wares and the gates were opened: Coombe Trenchard’s Home & Garden Show 2016 was in full swing.  

Thankfully the weather was humid but dry, warranting one (or two!) trips to the Icicle Ice Cream Tricycle to cool down. Picnic blankets were unrolled and wallets unfurled as the visitors kept on coming. We welcomed over 2,000 people during the whole weekend; an amazing amount of friendly faces, happy smiles and wagging tails keen to discover new additions to their home and gardens.

Coombe Trenchard itself came to life, revelling in so many welcome guests and showcasing just how much our beautiful home has to offer. We overheard innumerable snippets of conversation enthralled with picturing wedding celebrations on the terrace and bridal gowns in the woodland. The atmosphere was happy and content; no doubt in part owing to such a delicious array of treats to savour (we had the best brownie of our lives from Column Bakehouse). Children swooned over The Ark Man’s divine hand carved animals while their mothers sampled The Lavender Lady’s natural treats. Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Visit Dartmoor educated lovely visitors on our precious part of Devon. After picking up advice from our friendly plant suppliers, legs were rested and much needed cups of tea enjoyed. 

Children’s Hospice Southwest were delighted with the funds raised from their tent on the croquet lawn, and received many pledges of support for their Silver Anniversary Tea Party Celebrations. You can find out more and get involved by following this link. 

As 5pm approached, visitors followed the woodland path back to their cars, laden with armfuls of new favourite things. Exhibitors dispersed (with much lighter loads than when they arrived) and we cracked open a well-earned bottle of wine.  

You can watch a slideshow of some images of our wonderful weekend below. 

A huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone that came together to put on such a glorious weekend; exhibitors, staff, guests and their canine companions! There are too many exhibitors to name, but you were all fabulous; your hard work and huge effort is much appreciated.  We’re already looking forward to our next Home & Garden Show, and hope that you can all join us once more.

If you would like to be kept in touch with details of events at Coombe Trenchard please do join our mailing list here

Sarah xx

May in the gardens

This months blog from Ben Probert looks not only at how the gardens are bursting into life, but also the impact that garden sculpture has on the gardens. 

May is a month of contrasts; at the beginning of the month it is still decidedly spring, with frost a real risk, but by the end of the month it's all but summer and plants are growing at incredible speed. It's a busy month for gardeners as lawns and borders grow quickly, and it's easy for them to get out of hand it they're not monitored carefully. May brings warmer temperatures but usually lots of rain (certainly here in Devon!), so mowing goes from being an occasional job to being a regular part of a gardener's routine in a matter of a week!

May brings the highlight of the the horticultural year; the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show attracts interest from all over the world, with nurseries, designers and other garden companies come together for a horticultural extravaganza on the lawns of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. Actually getting to Chelsea can prove quite expensive, so most people take in the sights and sounds by watching the BBC's coverage. Whether you can be at Chelsea in person or in spirit, Chelsea week is also the time to do a very important garden job; the 'Chelsea chop'! Certain plants might flower earlier than wanted, so these plants are sheared back during Chelsea week, causing them to regrow and then flower a few weeks later. Certain Geraniums, Salvias, Asters and several other plants are perfect for the Chelsea chop, and it's a great way to make sure that you get a big display in your borders from June onwards, instead of having a few plants flowering at a time.

 The borders at Coombe Trenchard are certainly very healthy, and I put this down to a combination of the use of the right plants and a liberal dose of 'Coombe Trenchard gold', the fantastic home-brewed compost made from manure, green-waste and woody material. Most gardeners know about composting but a surprising number don't do it. Reasons include lack of space, lack of time (because composting does take a degree of time and effort) and the convenience of being able to buy a bag or two of compost as and when it's needed. A garden like the one at Coombe Trenchard generates a large amount of organic matter, and this is definitely not wasted! By the time the manure and organic matter has composted properly it's turned into a wonderfully rich, nutritious and bulky material, and this home made compost is absolutely fantastic for getting plants growing at their very best

The borders and Wisteria bursting into life

A nice billowy mass of fresh growth and flowers is always a delight to see, but gardens are often left lacking... something. It can be hard to put your finger on it, but all too often what's needed is a man-made element to anchor and balance the exuberant planting. Installing something like a bench, a sculpture or even a bird bath can really change a garden; you put a feature into a planted area and the feature somehow manages to make the planting seem more rich and vibrant, while the planting also frames and shows off your feature. It's a strange illusion, but somehow the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.

The right choice of a garden feature is critical, and it's a decision that is best thought about before taking the plunge. What colour? What would look right? How tall? How wide...? Time and time again I've seen gardens where budget has been a constraint, but the garden has been filled (and sometimes I mean filled) with smaller, cheaper sculptures and statues that just don't suit the space, and I'm left wondering if the money had been saved and spent on something more appropriate.

Coombe Trenchard is currently hosting its sculpture exhibition, and I would strongly advise that gardeners take a look. Although the exhibits are most definitely works of art in their own right, displayed using the garden as a 'green gallery', their placement in the garden really shows the importance of 'right sculpture, right place'. Take, for example, this piece below...

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Pelham System by Julian Wild

 This sculpture is made of rusting pipes, but this is not simply a pile of rusty old metal! The shapes, scale and colour of this piece look very industrial and unashamedly man-made, but sitting in a sea of wildflowers it looks fantastic. This sculpture would, certainly to my eyes, look rather drab in surrounded by concrete or indoors, but surrounded by the wildflowers it sits comfortably in its surroundings. Although surprisingly big it's not bulky, and is in fact the perfect size and scale for this part of the garden. A smaller piece here in the woodland would simply look small and out of place, and something big and bulky would dominate the wildflowers. It's a balancing act to get the right proportions, but it's definitely something worth the effort of getting right.

We come from Heaven, I from Hell 2012 by Robert Philips

This example above works on a smaller scale; this tall sculpture acts as a perfect accent to the Cordyline australis behind, while low planting around its base acts to balance the height and wide of the piece itself. The sculpture and the planting both compliment each other perfectly. I don't want to spoil the fun of seeing these sculptures for yourself, so this is my final example. The Irish yews (Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata') in the yew avenue are tall and upright, and in the fairly long and narrow space between them a low and wide sculpture would have the wrong proportions. Take a small sculpture and put it on a nice tall plinth and you have a piece that sits comfortably in its surroundings.

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You can combine art and comfort and go for a nice garden bench.... This bench is in Coombe Trenchard's woodland garden and is certainly not the kind of thing you see in your local garden centre or DIY store! It has to be big because it's in a big space, so a smaller bench would just get lost in this part of the garden. A high back allows this bench to be seen but also makes a sitting place into a visually striking feature. There's something very appealing about this bench; it's solid but also looks incredibly inviting. Where space and budget allow, a bench with character and substance could act as your principle seating and also as an artistic focal point.

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Big Bench by Chris Amey

You can use plants themselves as sculptures; gardeners have been using plants to create topiary sculptures for centuries! You don't have to be wild and outrageous with your topiary, even something as simple as a shape made from box (Buxus sempervirens) can be the perfect sculptural element for your garden. The rule of thumb here is the same as with sculptures made of any other material; be bold! A small clipped shape in a big space will disappear as quickly as a small statue would, so plan for your masterpiece to grow to a reasonable size. You might have to plant several of one thing to get you the effect in a sensible time, and your living sculpture will need clipping and shaping regularly to keep it looking good. It's important to bear in mind that, even if you buy fairly large plants to grow and clip, creating your own topiary sculpture of any meaningful size takes time, so if you want something big and bold now you might be better finding yourself an artist...!

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These shapes look great in long grass but have taken a long time to get this big!

By Ben Probert Penandtrowel.co.uk

Sculptural15 runs until June 20th, opening from Wednesday - Saturday 11am-5pm (closed June 6th for private event)

Christmas Carols at Coombe Trenchard

Coombe Trenchard in the Snow

For those of you who have yet to experience the winter splendour that is Christmas at Coombe Trenchard, there is no better time for you to see it than for our annual Christmas Carols evening on December 18th. The house and gardens shine in the winter, as a truly picturesque yet inviting feature in the Devonshire countryside. Christmas Carols, mulled cider and mince pies are exactly what these chilly pre-Christmas days are all about! This event really inspires the Christmas spirit of giving, and encourages donations to the Children’s Hospice South West.

The Children’s Hospice South West play a vital role in supporting and creating precious memories for families whose children are living with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. With very little government funding, they rely on the generosity of donations from individuals that really make a difference to the families the hospice provides for.

Image taken from Children Hospice South West Pinterest

The hospice was founded in 1991 by Eddie and Jill Farwell who experienced first hand the deficit of resources, previously having to travel over 4 hours to provide their two Children with life-limiting conditions to obtain the care they needed. Since then it has gone from strength to strength, now having grown to a chain of 3 hospices, providing much needed care all over the South West, but its dependence on donations means continuing support is invaluable.

Coombe Trenchard is delighted to once again support the Children’s Hospice South West with our 2015 Christmas Carol evening. To take a look at the Hospice's website to see what fantastic activities they are up to at the moment, click here.

Join Sarah and the team at Coombe Trenchard to indulge in the festivities, support this worth while cause and experience Coombe Trenchard at its most magical…we would love to see you there!

Historic Daffodils of the Tamar Valley March 25th 2014

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In March we were joined by Dr. Frances Howard as she shared her passion for the historic daffodils of the Tamar valley. Tickets for this event had sold out very quickly, and those that were lucky enough to secure a place, were treated to a humorous and engaging illustrated talk from Frances. 

Several people had brought along samples of daffodils from their own gardens for Frances to identify, and we had a beautiful and varied selection of native Narcissus gracing the tables at Coombe Trenchard.

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After a well received two course lunch, guests were invited to walk around the gardens with Frances and myself, giving them them a rare opportunity to see the Spring flowers at Coombe Trenchard. Frances was able to identify many historic varieties, including one named Van Sion (The great double daffodil) which can be dated back to 1620. This pseudo narcissus has the double petaloids neatly within the trumpet or explodes as a shaggy puff.

Entertaining Antiques February 28th 2014

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On the last day of February we played host to a fund raising evening in support of The Children's Hospice South West. 

CHSW fundraising is enthusiastically championed by Judy Pride. Judy and her wonderful team of local volunteers give up a huge amount of their precious time to raise funds for 'Little Harbour' the Children's hospice based at St. Austell, Cornwall.

Coombe Trenchard supported CHSW in 2013 when we hosted a traditional Edwardian tea party,  which was a huge success.

On this occasion, it was decided that an antiques evening would be very much in keeping with the venue, and we were delighted to have the support of Andrew Thomas from Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood of Exeter.

Andrew brought along a number of antiques, all dating from around the early 1900's and some of the Arts & Crafts in style. The guests were given a sheet with details of the items, and they were asked to try to guess their values. Later in the evening Andrew staged an auction, encouraging bids from the guests for donated items.

Guests were treated to a delicious supper of potage & trifle, and a wonderful evening was had by all. We were delighted to hear that this event raised £1117 for CHSW.

This summer CHSW will be joining us at our Home & Garden Show on May 31st & June 1st, serving delicious Pimms, and staging an Edwardian croquet match. Please do come along and support them.