Sixteen Rosebarn Avenue

Sixteen Rosebarn Avenue Our garden in Exeter as it changes and evolves over the seasons and the years

For those that say they don’t have room for a wildlife pond this is our micro boating lake in our courtyard. Whilst it ...
16/06/2026

For those that say they don’t have room for a wildlife pond this is our micro boating lake in our courtyard. Whilst it may not be huge we have packed it with oxygenators and the reeds provide a great drying out spot for newly fledged damselflies to dry their new wings as they start their new life outside of water. And whilst we don’t get their bigger cousins, dragonflies the pond does attract damselflies and it’s nice to see them courting in and around the pond.

The little yacht isn’t without its uses as a wide variety of bug life use it as a platform to rest after having a drink. The ferns, hostas, heucheras, astilbe and fuschias all provide plenty of cover for them and the pine cones we use as mulch also provide a home for woodlice, earwigs and centipedes.

Following on from our post the other day about our multi-storey bug hotel here is a Privet Hawk Moth resting just outsid...
12/06/2026

Following on from our post the other day about our multi-storey bug hotel here is a Privet Hawk Moth resting just outside our third storey habitat dedicated to butterflies and moths. It’s stuffed with straw and the vertical slots allow moths and butterflies to get in and out easily.

Apparently these moths are the UK’s largest and this one was no exception. It was easily 5cm in length and looked in robust good health. We were surprised to see it out in the day but apparently it’s not uncommon for them to be seen resting like this during the day. It’s a nice spot to hang out as the bug hotel faces south and there is a small, shallow pond right below and plenty of flowers surrounding it.

11/06/2026

Our high rise bug hotel is now in full swing. We built it to provide different habitats for different insects in order to support as wide a variety of bug life as possible. It has habitats which are good for spiders, solitary bees, butterflies and moths but just as important is the environment in its vicinity.

We have planted a rich variety of plants that grow and flower throughout the year. These include Nepeta, Phlomis, Ox-eye daisies, eryngiums, sedum, h**e, echinops and astilbe.

The only thing we forgot was a source of water which I’m planning to rectify today with a shallow bowl with some pebbles in it.

Quite a few visitors to the open garden this weekend said that they only have a small garden and struggled to make it in...
09/06/2026

Quite a few visitors to the open garden this weekend said that they only have a small garden and struggled to make it into a space that they wanted to spend time in.

Imagine their surprise when they rounded the corner into our 6mx3m courtyard garden. It’s north facing and fully tiled so we simply filled it with pots and planted them up with shade loving plants like heuchera, hostas and ferns. Drama is provided by our fatsia japonica and there is even a tiny micro pond. There is a bench on which you can sit and take in the last of the day’s sun and it’s all watered from a water butt next to the shed.

An additional bonus is that apart from watering the pots there is zero maintenance!

That’s our third opening in conjunction with the National Garden Scheme done and what a success it was, even with the le...
09/06/2026

That’s our third opening in conjunction with the National Garden Scheme done and what a success it was, even with the less than helpful weather.

Over the two days over 260 people visited our garden and those of three of our neighbours and together we raised over £2,500 for the NGS. Our cake stand had its busiest year yet and we managed to sell over £700 of teas, cakes and coffees!

But it’s not just us and our gardens. We couldn’t do any of this without the people that give their time to help us. From baking cakes, welcoming visitors at the garden gate to manning the cake shop and doing all the washing up. There are too many to mention but our thanks go out to each and every one.

And we mustn’t forget to thank all those lovely people who come along to see our gardens.

That’s it for this year but we are already planning how we can make next year’s opening even bigger and better.

Today’s harvest from the plot
03/06/2026

Today’s harvest from the plot

Only three days to go until we open up our garden along with our neighbours to raise funds for the National Garden Schem...
03/06/2026

Only three days to go until we open up our garden along with our neighbours to raise funds for the National Garden Scheme.

Grass has been cut, terraces scrubbed, beds weeded and cake baking is in full swing. All we need now is some lovely weather for the weekend.

We have been a bit tardy in whitewashing our greenhouse here in Devon but with the thermometer knocking on the door of 3...
25/05/2026

We have been a bit tardy in whitewashing our greenhouse here in Devon but with the thermometer knocking on the door of 30 degrees and set to remain there for the rest of the week we thought we had better get out there sharpish.

It’s only been on 10 minutes and it’s already a lot cooler in there.

Courtyard at night
24/05/2026

Courtyard at night

Parking areas and drives don’t have to be boring!
22/05/2026

Parking areas and drives don’t have to be boring!

Address

Exeter

Telephone

+447793557179

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sixteen Rosebarn Avenue posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Sixteen Rosebarn Avenue:

Shortcuts

Share

Category