Bernaville Nursery

You might well think that I spend my time at places where they sell plants! And you are probably correct!

From the moment that I had my own ‘postage stamp/ pocket handkerchief’ garden, until now, my appetite for gardening has never waned! 

When I was first teaching, in Surrey, I would catch the Woking bus every Thursday, after school, and either go into the town with my mum for a catch up , or I’d visit her and my dad at Knaphill and nip across the road to an old fashioned nursery.

It was delightful and set in the most beautiful, wooded surroundings. I’d wander to my heart’s content…and I’d always find something lovely to take home for my tiny garden. It was the only garden where I’ve never had a greenhouse but I loved that small space and it’s where I learned such a lot about gardening. 

The joy of living in Surrey was a) I could visit RHS Wisley whenever I liked, and b) similarly, I could visit The Chelsea Flower Show, which was nowhere near as busy as it it nowadays! We would hop on a train after school and spend the evening there! Happy times! 

Back in those days, (the 70s) there were very few garden centres but plenty of small nurseries where proper plants people, who knew their stuff, would help and advise. I mourn the loss of those kind of places. 

I digress…on to today…

Today was unexpected! We normally spend Tuesdays with my sister and her husband. Alas, she was unwell and had to cancel. 

To my surprise, my husband said, ‘So where would you like to go?’ 

I really fancied going to Bernaville Nursery as I’ve never been there ; it is on the outskirts of Exeter, at Cowley. And so for the third time in five days, off I went on the same road to Exeter…a road of which I’m not a lover… but hey ho, it had to be done! And it’s good to go somewhere different.  

I wasn’t disappointed. Everything was laid out attractively; the plants were lovely and healthy; the staff were friendly and it was easy to navigate.

After a good look around the plants, we then found the garden tools….

…the reason being…

At the weekend, Nich came to dig up some Foxgloves from my raised bed. I’d sown loads last year and had plenty to share. However, as he was digging them up, the garden fork broke! Well,I grabbed the old handle before anyone threw it away as I’ve always wanted a handle to stick in the raised bed as a prop/ feature!  🤣😆🤣 I think my husband thinks I’m bonkers.

I also bought a beautiful Hellebore to give to Nich and Lizzie for Easter, as they’ve invited us to lunch on Easter Sunday. I forgot to take a photo and we dropped it off for them to enjoy now rather than wait three weeks...but it’s like the one above. Hellebore Merlot.  I also purchased 4 Dahlia tubers.

As I waited for my husband to leave the Hellebore in their porch, I looked at the sky…what a stunning day! Welcome April! 

Nich turned up at the car door with a massive grin of delight on his face! Like me, he has the gardening bug and with a new garden to plan he’s really getting stuck in, during any spare time that he has!

We arrived home to find that one of our Azaleas had started to bloom…

Wasting no time at all, I potted up the Dahlia tubers as it’s not wise to plant them direct into the soil at the moment. 

How I love this time of year! 😁