Torquay’s oldest building, Torre Abbey – which is now part gallery, part historic house and part museum – has created a new tribute to Agatha Christie in the form of a particularly potent new garden feature.
Agatha Christie’s Potent Plants is the creation of Torre Abbey Head Gardener Ali Marshall, who in true crime writing style researched around 80 of Agatha Christie’s novels and short stories in just six months to come up with the Abbey’s own unique commemoration.
The new feature links the author’s interest in poisonous plants, her wartime work as a pharmacy dispenser and the medicinal plants that Torre Abbey’s medieval canons might have used.
With Poirot-esque determination and attention to detail Ali Marshall, with the help of experts at Torquay’s Agatha Christie Shop, has designed a garden with a central display of potent plants surrounded by plants that serve as Agatha Christie clues, solved only with a knowledge of the plots of some of the author’s short stories.
If you are travelling a long distance like getting on a long flight to get to Torre Abbey then make sure to pick one of the best travel pillows – your neck will thank you for it!