THE Devon Rural Archive is offering garden lovers the opportunity to find out more about the history of your garden with their 'Garden Detectives Day'.

The day of talks on Tuesday, April 17 will include a talk by keynote speaker Carolyn Keep of the Devon Gardens Trust, who will discuss the development of Devon's gardens and the Trust's work in recording them.

In the afternoon, Dr Theresa Oakley, consultant archaeologist to the DRA, will guide you through the archaeology of garden history to help people identify any unusual features in their garden.

A special highlight of the day is a guided tour of the beautiful private gardens at Shilstone, the home of the UK's only surviving seventeenth century water theatre, led by DRA archaeologist Abi Gray.

In addition, the programme will also feature a couple of case studies on garden restoration.

Abi Gray said: 'We are very excited about the DRA's first ever Devon Garden Detectives Day, which builds on the success of our previous House Detectives Day.

'There are many historic gardens in Devon, including the one here at Shilstone, and some of them have a fascinating past.

'We believe it is really important that the history is not lost and so the aim of the day is to help people learn how they can discover more about their own and other gardens, which will help them understand and appreciate what has been there in the past.'

The Garden Detectives Day, at the DRA headquarters in Shilstone, near Modbury, runs from 10am to 3.30pm and costs £25 to include a buffet lunch.

Booking is essential. To book your place, e-mail [email protected]">[email protected] or call 01548 830832.