Rosemoor Garden Devon
RHS Rosemoor Garden near Great Torrington in north Devon is one of the four regional gardens maintained by the Royal Horticultural Society, a 65-acre garden in the Torridge Valley that has developed from a personal garden donated to the RHS in 1988 by Lady Anne Berry into a comprehensive display garden of considerable quality and variety. The combination of the original intimate garden created by Lady Berry with the larger formal gardens, arboretum and naturalistic plantings added since the RHS took over management creates a garden that rewards exploration and provides interest in every season. The original Lady Anne's Garden, which surrounded the cottage that Lady Berry occupied on the estate, retains the personal character of a private garden created with taste and knowledge over many years. The collection of old roses, shrubs and woodland plants established by Lady Berry provides the core of a planting character that the RHS has respected and maintained while expanding the garden around it. The formal garden area added by the RHS provides a sequence of themed gardens in a more architectural setting, including the Rose Garden with its large collection of modern and heritage roses, the Fruit and Vegetable Garden demonstrating productive gardening techniques and the Cottage Garden planted with traditional perennials and biennials. The Stream Garden, developed in the more naturalistic character appropriate to the valley bottom, provides a contrasting approach to planting that follows the natural contours and hydrology of the landscape. The north Devon countryside surrounding Rosemoor, including the Torridge Valley and the coast at Westward Ho and Clovelly a short drive to the northwest, provides excellent complementary natural and heritage interest for a garden visit.