This year I had the honour of making another ITV film connected with these marvellous men (Gilbert, Sullivan and of course Alan!). As Part of ‘Alan Titchmarsh’s Gardening Club’ Series 2, I have been visiting some of Britain’s most fabulous gardens and on the list for 2025 was The National Trust’s ‘Coleton Fishacre’, just down the M5 in Devon. This was the former holiday home of Rupert D’Oyly Carte, the son of Richard who brought Gilbert and Sullivan together, subsequently building the Savoy Theatre and neighbouring hotel. The house and garden celebrate their 100th birthday this year and it was an extra special treat for me to visit.
Rupert and his wife spotted this blissful location while sailing by in the early 1900s and decided that it would be the perfect spot for a coastal house and garden, and it’s easy to see why this Devonshire valley leading down to Pudcombe Cove would appeal!
The couple moved into their brand-new Arts and Crafts home a year after construction began in 1925, enjoying their shared love of gardening. The design celebrated local materials by using stone quarried from the garden which takes the form of a magical mix of formal terraces to natural woodland, all accompanied by scintillating sea views.
With its mild climate, many tender and exotic plants thrive here with echiums taller than any I’ve ever seen, whilst my favourite, and totally hardy, Erigeron karvanskianus, has delightfully spread all along the terrace wall. This daisy will flower reliably from April until October, a perennial that no garden should be without!
The property was sold by the family in 1949 and then passed to The National Trust in the 1980s. Well worth a visit for any horticulturally operetta inclined individual!
Meanwhile, nearer home, if you’d like to pick up your own piece of Gilbert and Sullivan memorabilia, a theatrical local is selling a
number of items from the well-known John Cannon collection and can be found under the name of ‘Stage Memories’ on Ebay. I have already parted with a fair amount of cash!
Finally, as if to go full circle, after hearing Alan and I talk about my love of Gilbert and Sullivan whilst pottering with plants on camera, I have been invited to make a guest appearance at this year’s ‘Gilbert and Sullivan International Festival’ in Buxton, which I am very much looking forward to.
Green fingers and Gilbert & Sullivan have combined in the most delightful way!
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Catch Camilla’s visit to ‘Coleton Fishacre’ on ‘Alan Titchmarsh’s Gardening Club’ this month on ITV or available after transmission on ITVX.
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ENTERTAINMENT THROUGH THE GARDEN GAT E
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