“Should it not be remembered that in setting a garden we are painting a picture?” So said #beatrixfarrand , the celebrated American garden designer who served as a consultant to Dartington founders the Elmhirsts during the 1930s. Yet for resident horticulturalist, Mary Bartlett, the garden is far more than just a picture. She remembers the “closeness there once was between Dartington and the great experimental botanical gardens at Cambridge and Kew. In the years between the wars, the Dartington Estate might have become a rival to Kew – not only because it maintained a marvellous garden oasis at the geographical heart of the social experiment, but also because it was putting botanical horticulture and its connections with science, food production, medicine and entrepreneurship at the centre of the commercial and educational development plan.” Our beautiful, Grade 2* listed gardens are still free for all to visit throughout the year.. #gardens #historicalgarden #totnes #devon #thingstodoindevon ...

"How have we let this happen? How can we change the way we live in order to prevent mass extinction? It dawned on me that these solid plastic animals will be around for hundreds of years. They will almost certainly outlive some, if not all, the species themselves" GHOST by local artist, Sarah Strachan is a powerful new work in the 13th Century St Mary's Church Tower at Dartington Hall It’s open until tomorrow, Friday 20th September from 9am to 7.30pm. Sarah will be there each evening to light the candles from 7pm until close at 7.30. Sarah is always on the look-out for more plastic animals, sea creatures, reptiles and insects to grow her work. They need to be wild, (not farmed or domesticated) and naturalistic rather than cartoony. If you would like to donate some, please get in touch - sarah@sarahstrachan.com For more information on Sarah and her work, visit: www.sarahstrachan.com #climatecrisis #massextinction #ecologicalcollapse #artistsoninstagram #dartingtonhall ...