This area embraces the Nursery, Tea Shoppe and Spice Stones. The Nursery grows mostly the rare or unusual plants which gardening enthusiasts find very exciting.
Shirley's knowledge of the plants in the Nursery is truly remarkable and her advice, not only on these plants but many others as well, is widely sought.
The beauty of the plants for sale in the Nursery is that they can all be seen growing in the garden and so their height and preferred planting position can be determined.
Seed sources are from all over the world and, having made friends of many foreign visitors, they are always sending Shirley seeds and plants from their own gardens.
Tea Shoppe The Tea Shoppe needs little description except to say that only delicious home-made cakes, sandwiches and light lunches are made available all day.
It is located towards the end of the tour of the Gardens and, not surprisingly, it provides a welcome rest for most visitors.
Spice Stones The Spice Stones, erected in the centre of the courtyard in the form of an abstract statue, were an extremely generous gift from P & O, the world famous shipping line. They had been used to grind spices at Butler's Wharf , on the banks of the Thames - very near to Tower Bridge - for hundreds of years.
They became redundant when the land they occupied was to be used for construction purposes and so they were taken to a quarry on the edge of Bodmin Moor. It was there that Ray found them on one of his stone hunting forages and, after contacting P & O in an attempt to purchase them, was delighted to receive a letter to say they wished to donate them to the Gardens.
The paviours laid around the Spice Stones and, indeed, the whole
courtyard , Ray obtained from Lancashire where they had been used , again for hundreds of years, as flooring in cotton mills. Altogether, they make quite a splendid sight.