High Sheriff of Devon opens Tranquility Garden

A wonderful day of celebration as the High Sheriff of Devon, Caroline Harlow, visited Poltimore House & Grounds to open our new Tranquility Garden – with a little help from two younger visitors and Freddy!

The Tranquillity Garden occupies a site previously used for bonfires and was subsequently overgrown with brambles and weeds. Co-ordinator Chris Lloyd and his team of volunteers created a vision to replace this eyesore with a garden reflecting the period when a series of aviaries flanked the main path. Beautiful mosaic bird baths still remain from that era, and are being incorporated into the new landscape design.

Work began last summer on the arduous process of cutting back and digging out long-established bramble roots and removing a prodigious quantity of glass and other rubbish, with invaluable help from University of Exeter and HSBC corporate volunteers.

Throughout the winter, Poltimore House Trust’s own incredibly devoted volunteers have been working hard to transform this site into a very special place, shaping the ground and bringing in quarry scalping and granite gravel as part of the overall design. Moss-covered stonework has been imported from elsewhere in the Grounds, creating a reference to the remnants of historic garden features. Many of the plants have been raised in our own growing area, whilst one dedicated volunteer has spent a significant sum of his own money on more substantial plants that help finish the landscape’s structural planting.

As the planting develops, the open gravel area will come to feel secluded, with seasonal scents and colourful flowers filling the senses and creating a wonderfully peaceful place in which to sit and stroll.

At the end of her visit, the High Sheriff commented,

“It’s been inspirational visiting the volunteers and the trustees at Poltimore House, they’ve created gardens to simply die for. I couldn’t be more honoured than to be here. And just thank you to all of you for doing so much for all of us who live in this area and beyond. It’s been an absolute treat.”

Thank you High Sheriff – your visit means so much to us. And thank you to all our hard-working volunteers!