Wilding has become a trending topic among gardeners, but what does it actually mean? Does it involve less gardening and more weeds? Is it about incorporating foreign grasses and herbaceous perennials in various shades? Or is it about prioritizing native plants for pollinators and embracing the beauty of nature? Personally, I don’t want a garden that looks dull and uninspiring. That’s why I recently visited a remarkable wild garden called Wildside, located in south Devon. Trust me, it’s worth every mile of the journey.
Wildside, a three-acre site near Yelverton, has been carefully tended by Keith Wiley since 2004. Keith has been a pioneer in the wilding style long before it became associated with weeds and the no-mow May movement. He has transformed Wildside into a true masterpiece, following his successful gardening endeavors at the Garden House in Buckland Monachorum, a nearby garden known for its fluid planting and design.
The Garden House was originally owned by Lionel Fortescue, a retired schoolmaster from Eton College who turned it into a charity to benefit from tax exemptions. Fortescue had an interesting way of acquiring new plants, as Keith Wiley recalls. He would discreetly insert a stick beside desired plants in other people’s gardens, and his wife would then collect cuttings and slip them into her bag. Quite an economical approach, I must say.
When Keith Wiley joined the Garden House, he had just finished studying horticulture at Wye College, where he met his wife Ros, an aspiring artist in the realm of flowers and gardens. Together, they worked tirelessly at the Garden House to bring their vision to life. Ros also ran a plant nursery and a tea room, ensuring the garden’s growth and popularity. What was once a garden with a few hundred visitors per year quickly became a destination attracting around 45,000 people.
I had heard about Wildside through photographs and rave reviews, including accolades from readers of the Financial Times. However, before I could visit, the Wileys and the Garden House trustees went their separate ways. Undeterred, the Wileys purchased Wildside, a field without a house, and embarked on their second project. Keith Wiley admits that their departure from the Garden House left them feeling angry, but that anger also fueled their determination.
During the opening of his latest venture, an area of planting dedicated to his late wife, I had the opportunity to meet Keith Wiley in the courtyard of Wildside. Tall, lean, and focused, he spoke about our innate desire to evoke landscapes that resonated with us during our formative years. Nostalgia and emotions, he believes, play a crucial role in our appreciation of gardens. I wondered if I would be able to fully comprehend the emotions that his planting evokes in him.
Shape, he emphasized repeatedly, is his primary focus. It’s not just about the shapes of the plants he combines, but also about shaping the ground they grow in. He describes himself as someone who thinks in terms of landscapes, often envisioning interlocking hills. Prairie planting and perfectly manicured lawns are not his style.
As we ventured into the lower section of Wildside, I immediately understood what he meant. Generous paths wind through raised banks and hills, adorned with towering maples or magnolias that seem even taller within this setting. The views through the gardenscape evoke natural landscapes found in hilly areas. Keith explained that it took thousands of years for these landscapes to evolve in the wild, but at Wildside, he aims to capture that essence in a fleeting moment.
I couldn’t help but marvel at the thoughtfulness put into shaping the ground at Wildside. When we reached the boundary, I was amazed to learn that the field beyond it was similar to the one the Wileys acquired, with no hillocks to be found. All the sinuous shapes and banks were meticulously crafted by the Wileys themselves. Keith shared that they moved a staggering 150,000 tonnes of earth, reshaping and varying its depth. In his mind, he stores snapshots of landscapes he has encountered in his travels, shaping every day of his life’s work.
Like other proponents of wild gardening, Keith Wiley describes his approach as “naturalistic.” It’s not about strict adherence to the floras of specific regions based on scientific classifications. Instead, it’s driven by the pursuit of beauty, framed within the beauty of the garden’s groundwork, and accentuated by the flowers and shapes that each season brings. In spring, the lower area of Wildside is carpeted with bulbs, particularly the stunning erythroniums that flourish in Devon’s soil. Wiley reflected on their humble beginnings, mentioning that they had little money initially. Now, those erythroniums must be quite valuable. As his fame grew, he was invited to lecture in the US, where he encountered woods filled with wild erythroniums known as “trout lilies” during his coast-to-coast journey. His vivid description of one such wood on a radio broadcast led to offers for him to set up in California as a landscape designer, which was the last thing he desired.
We made our way back to the two higher areas of Wildside, the courtyard garden, and the new garden tribute to Keith’s wife. When in full bloom, they are a sight to behold, the epitome of wilding as I have always envisioned it. Amidst the hills and valleys that Keith has constructed, he has recreated the beautiful landscapes he and Ros encountered in South Africa. These landscapes are teeming with rivers of blue agapanthus, vibrant crocosmias, self-seeding dieramas (affectionately known as Venus’s fishing rods), and clusters of pink Saponaria Max Frei and low-growing campanulas that I struggled to identify. The campanulas come in shades of milk blue, pink, and white, known as Campanula lactiflora, and are intentionally cut back hard in late May to control their height and extend their flowering season. This practice, referred to as the “Chelsea chop,” originated from the Wileys.
The courtyard garden features tall grasses swaying alongside magnificent lilies in shades of deep crimson and pale yellow. These lilies multiply with abandon in the well-suited soil they inhabit. Striking spikes of white-flowered yuccas punctuate the beauty of the scene. None of these garden features were created through mass plant purchases or pre-bought units for matrix planting. Instead, parent plants are allowed to develop, producing seeds that are redistributed or divided. Many of them crossbreed and create unique variations. In May, the garden becomes a spectacle of unnamed camassias, ranging from dark blue to white, showcasing the extent of wild gardening’s success.
While some weeding is necessary, there is no mowing involved at Wildside. The garden embraces a grand-scale no-mow approach, completely forsaking lawns. This remarkable garden operates on a minimal budget and relies heavily on Keith Wiley’s income from visitors. So, I implore you to pay a visit and support his ongoing efforts. In his pursuit to complete the garden tribute to his wife, he is seeking £45,000 in funding, which is less than what a Chelsea designer would charge for a simple plan. He is determined not to squander any of it.
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