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Please use the following format and info on your own site to link to your page in Gardens-Guide.com: at Gardens-Guide.com http://www.gardens-guide.com The premiere directory of open gardens in the UK and Ireland today Ask your friends and suppliers as well to link to your page in Gardens-Guide as well. Every link we get into your page helps rankings for both of us in search engines. **************************************************************** **************************************************************** **************************************************************** Garden Name: Overbeck's Last Modified: 18-01-2011 Garden ID: 0243 pic: 0243_Overbecks.jpg NOTE: If this says "missing", then please send us a picture for your page which is at least 1000 x 1000 pixels in size. Thanks! Owner: National Trust Address: Sharpitor Salcombe Postcode: TQ8 8LW County: Devon tel: 01548 842893 fax: website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-overbecks email: overbecks //at// nationaltrust.org.uk English Heritage Grade: II Opening Times: NOTE for 2012: Please check with garden owners or their website to confirm current dates open http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-overbecks Garden only 1st Feb - 12th Mar; Sat - Thurs; 11.00 - 4.00 31st Oct - 31st Dec; Sat - Thurs; 11.00 -4.00 Garden/House/Shop/Tea Room 12th Mar - 16th Apr; Sat - Thurs; 11.00 - 5.00; 17th Apr - 3rd Sept ;daily; 11.00 - 5.00; 4th Sept - 22nd Oct; Sat - Thurs; 11.00 - 5.00 23rd Oct - 30th Oct; daily; 11.00 - 5.00 Tea-room closes 4:15 March to October. Property closed 24 and 25 December. Last admission 30 minutes before closing. Best Times of Year to Visit: Summer To see: National Collection: National Garden Scheme days: No Comments: Parties / Coaches: Yes Comments: max 24 seater Viewing by Appointment: Yes Comments: House Open for Viewing: Yes Comments: as above dates and times Admission Prices: Adult £7, child £3.60, family £17.60, family (1 adult) £10.60 Parking: Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes Shop: Yes Plants for Sale: No Lunches: No Teas: Yes Refreshments: Yes Picnics: Yes Dogs allowed: No Only on Lead: No Events: No Other Facilities: Dogs allowed on coastal walks from car park. Various events throughout the year (see own website) Features: Luxuriant coastal garden surrounding elegant Edwardian house with diverse collections; Weird and wonderful collections of scientist and inventor Otto Overbeck; Lovely subtropical garden, an exotic haven; Spectacular views over sea and estuary; Search for Fred, the friendly ghost; Quizzes and trails. Visit the 'Hidden Histories' exhibition that tells the story of 'Sharpitor', the original name for Overbeck's when it was built by Mr & Mrs Vereker. Designer: Description of Garden: Spectacularly situated beside the Salcombe Estuary, the garden at Overbecks enjoys a mild micro-climate which provides the ideal growing conditions for many tender plants. The garden is a series of enclosures and terraces laid out at the beginning of the twentieth century and subsequently planted with sub-tropical plants from around the world. An exotic note is struck right at the entrance by an avenue of Chusan Palms (Trachycarpus fortunei) which are also planted throughout the garden. The borders near the house contain South African plants, such as Crinum and Agapanthus and Echium pininana, with its incredible 16ft tall lavender-blue flower spikes. The formal area of the garden is presided over by a bronze statue of a girl surrounded by four herbaceous borders which are a riot of colour in summer. Another small garden beyond looks down upon a parterre of dwarf box and coloured gravel, where orange and lemon trees in pots are placed in the summer and banana trees (Musa basjoo) grow throughout the year. Many tender plants add to the exotic feel though native wildflowers are not forgotten; in spring, bluebells, primroses, anemones and daffodils grow on the rough grass banks. The most spectacular sight in this garden is undeniably the flowering of the one hundred year old Magnolia campbelli; its deep pink blossoms making an exhilarating appearance in late Winter. History: Edric Hopkins designed the basic layout of walls that divide the site into small enclosures in the early 1900s. Mr and Mrs George Medlicott Vereker extended the planting after purchasing the property in 1913 and Otto Overbeck developed and expanded it from 1928 onwards, boasting that he grew "bananas, oranges and pomegranates in the open garden and have 3,000 palm trees planted in my woods and garden" in a letter to a friend in 1933. 'Sharpitor', was the original name for Overbeck's when it was built by Mr & Mrs Vereker, who, in memory of their son, killed in the WW1, offered their new home to the Red Cross Society to be used as a Voluntary Aid Hospital for the treatment of convalescent British and allied troops. Local Inns: Sloop Inn, Bantham Accomodation: Staunton Lodge, Kingsbridge Restaurants: Village/Town/Sightseeing: