Marwood Hill Gardens

Location, Area, Boundaries, Landform and Setting

Marwood Hill Gardens is situated 4 miles north of the town of Barnstaple in North Devon, sitting between the hamlets of Marwood and Guineaford.

Entrances and Approaches

The site is approached from a road to the north, the entrance being on the north-north-east of the grounds.

Principal Building

The principal building is a house built by Dr Jimmy Smart in the 1970s and which was his home until his death in 2002. The living room was subsequently converted to become the site's tea-room, which opened in 2005.

Grounds and Pleasure Grounds

To the left of the entrance are sited herbaceous borders and a Wisteria arbour with several benches. Following the path to the east, Mediterranean beds are sited below the tea rooms, this being the warmest and driest area of the garden. On the eastern-most border a small quarry, which is being developed with planting, gives way to the upper lake.

The upper lake is the current site for the collection of Japanese Iris, which were moved from a drier area. It has a small stream feed to the middle lake and the area between them is home to the National Collection of Astilbe. An island in the lake features a sculpture of a mother and child. A stream from the middle lake then flows through the bog garden and into the lower lake, the lakes forming the central horizontal core of the grounds.

From this core, the ground slopes upwards to the southern border. This is a large area featuring many shrubs and trees. On the eastern side is a conifer collection, whilst the lower end of the slope features a collection of birch and Eucalyptus . These were specifically chosen by Dr Smart to complement each other - the birch being a Northern hemisphere deciduous tree and the Eucalyptus being a Southern hemisphere evergreen, but both having stunning bark. The upper-most edge of the area houses a Camellia walk, and a Hydrangea walk cuts through the middle of the area.

Beyond the lower lake, towards the north-western corner, lies a scented arbour followed by a folly and waterfall. A wild garden stretches from this corner back towards the east, leading to beehives and a bluebell wood which is central to the northern border.

Heading from the bluebell wood back towards the admission gate, the walled garden can be seen. The inner area of this features the National Collection of Tulbaghia, a Camellia house, and the plant sales area. The outer wall area features a Hellebore bank and scree area on the southern side, a small pool on the northern side, and herbaceous borders to the east.

Benches are placed at regular intervals throughout the gardens, and sculptures are featured at the north-eastern approach to the upper lake, on an island in the middle lake, between the middle lake and bog garden, and at the eastern edge of the lower lake. The sculpture between the middle lake and bog garden is placed almost centrally within the whole site and is of Dr Jimmy Smart.

Kitchen Garden

A walled garden immediately to the right of the admission gate and on the north edge of the site formerly contained cordon and espalier apple trees. It now provides space for a sales area of plants propagated on site and it also where the National Collection of Tulbaghia and the Camellia house is situated.

Plant sales include some unusual Astilbe from the National Collection, which may be difficult to source from other nurseries.