About

Special Plants is just that, a nursery full of special plants collected by plant enthusiast Derry Watkins. Many of the plants are from her travels to countries such as South Africa, Nepal and Bulgaria.Special Plants has become a Mecca for plant enthusiasts, attracting well-known gardeners and garden designers from all over the country and around the world. The nursery is a firm favourite with renowned garden designer and writer, Dan Pearson, who now lives close to Bath.

The nursery and gardens are located on a steep hillside in a narrow valley just a few miles from the hustle and bustle of Bath; a drive down the single lane track to the nursery is the entrance to a little piece of plant paradise.

Alongside the simple but well organised nursery, Derry and her architect husband Peter Clegg have developed a stunning garden around their home, a converted barn, which fits into the contours of the hillside and offers far reaching views of open fields and the rolling hills beyond.

In addition on Special Tuesdays, Derry gives a tour of the garden and short practical talks on what’s happening in the garden each week. These are very popular and run from April to October, providing gardeners a great way to get first hand expert advice and also discover new plants at the same time. She also runs one day practical gardening courses in the autumn.