| Plymouth garden with a twist of Lemon | |
|  | | The Ornamental Garden at The Lodge |
| | Phyllis and Melville Tregaskis have been members of the National Gardens Scheme for 19 years. Their garden at The Lodge in Plymouth isn't just lovely to look at - but as BBC Devon Online's Laura Joint found out, it's also full of surprises. |
| | | Oranges, lemons, apricots, kiwi fruit, grapefruit, figs and olive trees...these are just a few of the surprising things you'll find on a visit to The Lodge in Plymouth.
The garden is south facing and on a slope, with views across the Lower Compton area of urban Plymouth. Not exactly the sort of place where you'd expect to find citrus fruit and olive trees!
Owners Phyllis and Melville Tregaskis bought the property in 1969, when it was used as a nursery by Plymouth City Council.
 | | Apricots starting to come through |
A lot of work was initially needed to clear the council greenhouses and create what is now the ornamental part of the garden.
This is the most colourful section of the garden, and it leads on to a big vegetable and soft fruit garden.
Finally, right at the top, there's the citrus fruit and greenhouses - and a row of acacia trees to provide a natural border, as well as shelter from bad weather.
Phyllis says much thought has been put into layout of the garden.
"The ornamental garden has very dry soil, so we have a lot of hardy and strong geraniums. They give good ground cover.
 | | The bright yellow rock hypericum |
"I like a mixture of colours, but they must complement each other - so there are whites and purples together, and blues and yellows.
"The erigerons (a lilac-pink daisy) cause a lot of interest, and the yellow is provided by the rock hypericum - they're nice and bright."
This area is linked to the vegetable garden by an arch, covered with clematis and honeysuckle.
During this visit, in early June, the vegetables being grown included runner beans, potatoes, and cabbages.
The strawberries were already looking scrumptious, and raspberries were are also being grown.
"People ask us 'do you sell any of this' and we say 'no - we eat it!' " said Phyllis.
 | | The arch linking the vegetable and ornamental gardens |
The varieties of citrus fruit are mainly grown in pots, as they're not quite hardy enough. Some are outdoors, and others are in the greenhouses.
Phyllis and Melville are self sufficient in lemons and figs, and also have a nice supply of other fruit.
"You need to feed them correctly to get the benefit," said Phyllis.
"The kiwi plant has been here for several years - they take a few years to become established and bear fruit.
"They're doing nicely, and the apricots are coming on too."
Looking after the garden is very time consuming, and when the weather is hot and dy - as during this visit - it needs to be waterered twice a day.
But the effort is well worth it: "People who come to the garden say they enjoy it, which is nice," said Phyllis.
* Opening days at the Lodge in 2004 are Sunday 13th June, and Sunday 18th July (2-5pm). Private visits are welcome by appointment - telephone 01752 220849.
Article published: 9th June 2004
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