I was lucky enough to spend some time in east Devon. Staying at the village of Dalwood nearby (just a few miles outside of Axminster), it was just a short hop in the car before I arrived for an explore of Burrow Farm Gardens.
Having spent many a childhood holiday in this part of Devon, I was surprised to have not known about these gardens before and I was keen to discover more.
Tucked up some traditional Devon lanes, Burrow Farm Gardens sits on the edge of the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and as the area designation suggests, it’s a stunning area of the country.
As you descend from the car park into the entrance of the gardens, you can see glimpses of the surrounding countryside and the rolling hills of Devon.
Once we’d paid our entry tickets, we headed to the Millennium Garden with its tasteful water feature and tranquil pond. The views from this point were gorgeous too.
We then ambled our way through the gardens, passing the abundant flowers of the rhododendrons and azaleas and the vibrant colours of the acers.
Within the woodland areas small carpets of native bluebell snuggled up with other wildflowers.
The paths we followed headed down the hillside where we came across a pond area with some giant lily-like plants (I have no idea what they are called).
It was a popular area for the birds, with robins, blackbirds and other species dotting in and out of the area looking for food.
We also found a small lake area which houses thousands and thousands of tadpoles! A great place to take children to explore some of our nature.
The ironic thing about this though is that after talking to one of the staff about them, he mentioned that the owner and designer of the garden actually has a fear of frogs!
There are other areas around the gardens that are dedicated to wildflowers, although it was a little early in the season for the wild flowers to all be out.
The journey back up the gardens is a bit of a challenge with the steepness of the hill, but the views are well worth it. Above the tearoom area, there’s a terrace garden with a variety of plants and flowers.
I loved the area with the arches, little shelters and the vibrant purple flowers.
Burrow Hill Gardens is easily somewhere that you could while away an hour or two and although at just 13 acres the gardens aren’t huge, you will be sure to find it a place of tranquillity and relaxation. There’s also a small shop, plant sales and an area selling metal work for gardens handmade by a local blacksmith.
Unfortunately, on this occasion we didn’t have time to pop to the tearoom but I’ll be sure to put it on the agenda next time I’m in the area.
If you happen to be in the east Devon area then I’d highly recommend popping along to these gardens.
