Making your garden fair: Sunday 3 May 2015




A quiet corner of the garden at Fairlynch Museum
If you've ever visited Fairlynch and wished that your garden had that same charming cottagey feel, vintage specialist Sheila Hyson has a few tips for you and would be happy to advise at the Budleigh Salterton Garden Fair that she’s holding in the Public Hall on Sunday 3 May, from 10.00am till 3.00pm.  
 












You may have noticed this rather fine 19th century stone chimney pot nestling among the shrubs at the Museum. It’s all that remains of ‘Woodlands’, a grand house on West Hill that was rather foolishly demolished like so many other notable buildings in Budleigh Salterton.  








Image credit: Hyson Garden Fairs   
The opening of ‘Woodlands’ pot has been filled in, but old chimney pots like these are often used as planters and often come up at Hyson Garden Fairs.   

A more elaborate chimney pot
Image credit: Hyson Garden Fairs  
Stone items like statues became popular with English garden designers in the 17th and 18th centuries and many elaborate ornaments were brought back from Europe by wealthy young noblemen on their Grand Tour.

Naturally enough such ornaments are more suited to country estates than to cottage gardens, but attractive and portable statuary often features at Garden Fairs. Such items are often made in reconstituted or cast stone and appear so similar to natural carved stone that at first glance it’s difficult to tell them apart.


Image credit: Hyson Garden Fairs.

The Garden Fair on 3 May will of course offer plenty of other items to adorn your home and garden, including a wide range of plants. 

For more information about Hyson Fairs click here



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