Derry Watkins Garden in Spring
This is the garden of respected plantswoman and self confessed plantaholic Derry Watkins. Located in an idyllic valley just north of Bath, the garden was designed and built by Derry’s husband the architect Peter Clegg OBE, but planted by Derry with all sorts of less-usual plants such as black cow-parsley and lime green Smyrnium perfoliatum, many of which are available for sale from her Special Plants Nursery on the same site.
In 2024, Derry exhibited a display of her plants at Chelsea Flower Show and caught the attention of Monty Don and Nigel Slater amongst others, who commented on the delights and surprises they found there. That is also how it is in her garden, especially at this time of year when delicate beauties such as Ranunculus aconitifolius ‘Flore Pleno’ hold your attention whilst the behemoths of late summer are still just emerging.
The soil here is mostly clay which has been improved with regular mulching over the past 25 years, but nearer the house are areas of gravel for plants that prefer free drainage. There are also two ponds and a bog, a kitchen garden and a woodland garden, all providing a variety of planting conditions which Derry exploits to the maximum. The house is a traditional stone barn converted and extended by Peter. The garden is open on Tuesdays from spring until the end of October and on some Thursdays for the National Gardens Scheme. Visitors are provided with a map of the garden drawn by Peter, and a comprehensive plant list compiled by Derry.
Location
Near Bath, UK
Shoot Date
Mid May 2025 & 2026
Photo Set
This is just a sample of a photo set containing over 80 fully captioned photos, including at least 4 plant combinations and at least 12 portraits of key plants chosen by Derry and her gardener. A picture of Derry is available if required and she is very happy to be interviewed by a writer and/or welcome a writer to visit the garden. This garden has featured in the press before, most recently as a backdrop setting for instructive features by Derry about seed saving, but the garden itself has not been published as a feature for over 10 years and has never been featured at this time of year. There is no specific writer linked to this photo set, though I can provide the words myself if required. There are no conditions agreed with the owners and they have no plans to move any time soon. The full set is available to download via WeTransfer on request.