Greencombe Gardens

Greencombe is a post-war garden, having been started in 1946 by Horace Stroud. It is a strip of 3.5 acres on the edge of ancient woodland. The light comes from the north, with a sweep of sky down to the Bristol Channel. To the south rise wooded slopes, that tumble between high Exmoor and the sea. The name comes from the combe (or valley) behind, which is the only one in this arc of hills with a sward of grass but no water. Since September 1966 it has been in the care and custody of Joan Loraine whose dedication to the garden has produced what you see today. Although most of these wonderful plants have been deliberately planted in their present positions, the garden gives you the impression that it occurred naturally and that the paths wander around the plants that already existed, so natural is the layout. For at least the last 37 years Greencombe has been an organic garden using between 25 and 30 tons of home produced compost and leaf-mould each year. The gardens contain four national plant collections: Erythronium (small mountain lilies); Polystichum (the thumbs-up fern); Vaccinium (Wortleberries world-wide) and Gaultheria (berries for bears).