News from Wildside Garden

[Maggi Young]

It  is  sad to relate  that Ros Wiley, artist and  life partner  of  Keith Wiley  of  Wildside  Garden  in  Devon, has  passed  away after  a  short  illness.  Ros' support  and  help to Keith in the  development  of the  quite  extraordinary  garden at  Wildside cannot  be  overstated and  we  regret  her  passing  in that context as well as  for  her  loss  as  his  wife.



 This  notice  is  from Keith on the  Wildside  website  :

In Loving Memory - Ros Wiley                                                                                                   

It is with deepest regret I have to announce that Ros passed away peacefully and painlessly on 4th September after a brave fight against a short illness. There will be a chance to join us in a celebration of her life at St. Andrews church in Buckland Monachorum on Saturday 28th September at 2.30pm. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            As Ros and myself looked after the garden on our own, her loss will clearly require a complete reappraisal of how I cope with the garden upkeep. I am hoping and will try my best to keep the garden open in 2020 (dates as noted below) subject to practical and financial considerations. I would also dearly love to finish the last section, (in the Canyons), and quite possibly what promised to be the most exciting section of unfinished garden here at Wildside as a permanent memorial to the pivotal and massively underrated role she has played in the garden’s development. Please email me   if you might be interested interested in contributing towards making this dream become a reality and I will send you more details.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Ros and I have appreciated all your support and encouragement over the years and I thank you for your messages of sympathy at this very difficult time.     
   Keith Wiley





Low  September  Sun - by  Ros  Wiley

Our  sincere  condolences to Keith at this  sad time.

[ranunculus]

I am absolutely stunned and devastated to hear the news of Ros's incredibly sad passing. May I pass on the sympathies of Sue and I and the entire membership of the East Lancashire Group of the AGS to Keith, the family and friends.  Still one of the most memorable gardens I have ever visited and a wonderful tribute to the inspirational and artistic efforts of this truly remarkable couple.  R.I.P. Ros ... Love and deepest sympathy to dear Keith.

[Maggi Young]

Some  good  news  from Keith Wiley  at Wildside, with hope  for  the  future  after the  sad  death of  Ros  last  autumn.

I am grateful to Helen Evans  for  bringing  my  attention to this  with her  post  on Facebook.


"Keith Wiley has now published details of his plans for the final corner of the garden at Wildside Nursery on his website (http://www.wileyatwildside.com/3.html). He and Ros discussed the concepts for this during her illness, and the garden is intended to be a tribute to her. The idea is to produce a South African style garden with running water in an abandoned quarry setting. This new area of the garden will contain a two storey pavilion which he hopes will become a cancer respite facility.

http://www.wileyatwildside.com/3.html?fbclid=IwAR3fe72oGK4_dobXIrOIzBDFOqVZ4pI6MKOVasmCKpBgw5YtsO_GjxGlOQ4

There is a link at the bottom of the page to a JustGiving campaign (https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/keith-wiley? ), where those who wish to contribute financially to support this development can do so."

[Maggi Young]

Helen Evans  writes:
Next week Keith Wiley’s wonderful garden at Wildside Nursery near Buckland Nursery will be opening for the first time this year.
Keith has now finished landscaping and planting the new garden in tribute to his late wife Ros. That will be a feature later in the summer. But in April the woodland areas will be a mass of Erythronium, Trillium, Anemone and other spring bulbs, under a canopy of magnolias, azaleas and fruit blossom.
For more details see the Wildside website: https://wileyatwildside.com/

Wildside opening times 2022: All between 11am – 5pm
April 4th to the 7th
April 27th to the 30th
May 15th to the 18th
May 28th to the 31st
June 12th to the 15th
June 27th to the 30th
July 10th to the 13th
July 28th to the 31st
August 12th to the 15th





Photos by Jon Evans - many thanks to Jon and Helen!

Wildside Nursery
Green Lane
Buckland Monachorum
Devon
PL20 7NP

[Maggi Young]

A few more of Jon Evans' Wildside photos ....








 What a marvelous place!

[Maggi Young]

Another of Jon' visits to Wildside - his first in late April ....
"Despite the lack of shows in the south this year, last Friday I found myself on the road again.  We were making the long journey down to Buckland Monachorum on the far edge of Devon to visit Keith Wiley’s lovely garden at Wildside Nursery."

 see more here: https://www.alpinegardensociety.net/plants/wildside-nursery-garden-at-the-end-of-april/?fbclid=IwAR2WOyC8dekIbk1YiB4RHkOipkVzdclb9zZK1iJS1vvbSNG_9cU6TwLhtuY