| Oliver's Cornwall |
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Some
of Britain's Finest
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| We had been round
Antony Woodland Garden previously but I got few photos then. On this
occasion, in April 2007, I took plenty of photos, so I felt it was time
for a report. Antony House and its
garden are in the care of the National Trust. The Woodland Garden
remains in the ownership of the Pole-Carew family but is free to members
of the NT when the house is open. If you go to Antony, on the Rame
Peninsula, to visit the house, its garden and the woodland garden you would
do well to allow most of a day; the full circuit of the woodland
garden is the better part of five miles and there is a lot to linger over.
The woodland garden has its own car park, close to the warden's lodge.
The western part of the garden has the major interest: hundreds of superb camellias, abundant magnolias, azaleas and rhododendrons, lovely mature woodland with carpets of primroses and bluebells. For part of the way the path follows the River Lynher with views to Ince Castle and Anthony Passage. Sculpture is dotted around and you see a Georgian bath house. The eastern part overlooks the Lynher and the Hamoaze with views to Trematon Castle and the Tamar Bridges. Just off the path is an ancient dovecot. A lovely place for a fairly serious walk. |
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| Antony is signed off A374 close to Torpoint |
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The Bonythons are
one of those ancient Cornish families that seem to have disappeared off
the Cornish map. They had been at Bonython on the Lizard since the
10th century or earlier and their estate stretched from Poldhu Cove in
the west to the Helford River in the north-east. In 1585 one Captain
Bonython commanded one of Ralegh's ships that founded Roanoke; Bonythons
settled in America and more made their names in Australia. In the
19th century the estate was acquired by the Lyles and in 1999 by the Nathans.
Bonython is a double case of restoration. The handsome Georgian house, of silvery granite, was restored by Robert Lyle in the late 20th century; the continuing garden project is the work of Mrs. Nathan. Bonython, which we visited in September 2006, is very much a summer garden. An avenue of luxuriant hydrangeas leads towards the house. A walled garden is divided in two, the upper part with herbaceous borders, the lower with vegetables and flowers for cutting. Lawns lead to a series of lakes, one sparsely planted, one under development, the middle one richly planted with South African grasses, betraying the owners' origin. Summer 2006 had been very dry so the lakes were weedy and we did not see the garden at its best; we will revisit in high summer. |
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Signed from Cury Cross Lanes on A3083 Helston to Lizard Town |
| The three acre garden, around a Georgian house, makes a pleasant contrast with the standard Cornish garden. Instead of the expected informal ‘Himalayan’ ravine, ablaze with rhododendrons in spring, Bosvigo is an orderly summer garden whose style is of themed areas, walled and enclosed, intimate and precise. A ‘hot’ garden features red, orange and yellow plants; the Vean garden is of white and delicate yellow; elsewhere are areas of pink, mauve and purple. Though minor in its importance, this is a place of colour, vibrancy and profusion but, when we visited in 2003, maintenance seemed a bit disapppointing. Tucked away just on the western edge of Truro, it is easily accessible from most of Cornwall. There is reasonable car parking available. |
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Caerhays Castle Garden - February 2004
| This is Cornwall's most highly specialised - and probably best - spring garden. Open only mid-February to May it boasts the finest imaginable collection of camellias, azaleas, magnolias and rhododendrons. The one problem is to hit it when at least two of these are in full bloom. We visited in February 2004 when camellias were at their best, magnolias just opening and Highland cattle grazing in the park. We returned in late March: magnolias were just simply magnificent, rhodos and azaleas out. The castle also opens for guided tours but is very Victorian and not important. Two criticisms: a detailed plan may have good descriptions but numbering doesn't relate to plant labels - and both the garden tearoom and the excellent beach cafe were closed on both visits! There is ample car parking by Porthluney Cove |
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Caerhays Garden Revisited March 2007
| We try to visit Caerhays Castle for its spring garden at least twice every year. In 2007 we made our first visit in mid March for the magnolias. We were lucky, they were just about at their best. Most of the really striking ones were white, a couple were pink and one was a pink so dark as to be almost purple. A few rhodos were in full bloom but the camellias were mostly past it, having been hit by earlier frosts. As always we managed to spend the best part of two hours in the garden. As always we loved it. |
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In April 2008 we took advantage of a Western Morning News '2 for the price of 1' offer to visit a couple of spring gardens near Mawnan Smith in the general area between Falmouth and the Helford River. Neither Carwinion nor Penjerrick could be said to rate anywhere compared to nearby Glendurgan and Trebah. Carwinion is perhaps an acceptable 1½ hour visit for its £4 entry charge. Penjerrick is appalling value even at its lower £2.50; more of that elsewhere. Carwinion was the creation of the cadet branch of the Rogers family of Penrose, now a lovely estate owned by the National Trust, and was laid out in the late 19th century. As is usual in these parts, the 12 acre garden runs down a valley from the house. Unusually, if you exit at the bottom, you can (as we did) follow a footpath down through woodland to the Helford River at Porth Saxon. As you might expect of a garden with a bamboo nursery, that plant rather dominates. There are, however, also some good rhodos, azaleas and pieris and, early in the year, swathes of blueballs, primrose and anemones. Ponds are fairly well maintained but feature gardens - Quarry and Japanese - are disappointing; the Secret garden is better. Keep an eye out for some impressive trees, good tree ferns and vast gunneras. |
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Leave Mawnan Smith south towards Mawnan; on right at end of village |
| In May 2008 we had
a busy gardens day. There are three gardens in the Lamorna Valley
- Chygurno, Trewoofe House and Trewoofe
Orchard - and, since we would be passing it on the way to Lamorna,
we decided to include Trereife as well. Of
the four, Trewoofe Orchard was the undoubted star, Chygurno the most remarkable,
Trewoofe House pleasant but not outstanding, and Trereife a waste of time
(with one honourable exception). A great bonus was that bluebells
were everywhere.
Chygurno really is a remarkable garden, set as it is high above the foot of the Lamorna Valley and with views across the valley and to the sea and Carn Du Point. It is remarkable for its steepness, too; it is long and (on the map) fairly narrow but falls away sharply almost down to the road. Perhaps even more remarkable is that when the Moules bought the house in 1998 it had been empty for 20 years and the site was wilderness. Winding paths and steep steps (no handrails) take you around and down the garden which is luxuriantly planted, mostly with exotic plants.. This is a garden for both spring and summer. First rhodos, azaleas and aeoniums, then tree ferns, banana plants and Canary foxgloves, later hydrangeas and agapanthus. Steepness means that this is not an easy garden but we found it well worthwhile. |
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| End of Lamorna Cove hotel lane. Open Apr to Aug, 1 or 2 days a week |
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The garden of Cotehele House is really two. Behind the house, on its west side, is a relatively formal compartmented garden within the old walled garden, only recently restored. Here you will find a pool garden, broad herbaceous borders, annuals for cutting and an orchard. Linking this to the valley garden on the east side of the house is a sloping meadow, ablaze with hundreds of varieties of daffodils in spring and dotted with crocuses, anemones and fritillaries. The Tamar Valley was once prime daffodil growing territory, the early crop exported to London by water from Cotehele Quay. A grove of acers finally links meadow and terrace. Below the formal eastern rose terrace lies the ten-acre valley garden, a delight when its magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas are in flower. Later there are impressive hydrangeas and superb dogwoods. At any time you can enjoy the view of an ancient dovecote across a lily pond, the palms, ferns, tree ferns, bamboos and gunnera. Views continue eastwards to take in the Calstock railroad viaduct over the River Tamar. A stream runs down the valley, through a series of small pools bordered by king cups, irises and candelabra primulas. If you leave the garden at the bottom end, a path leads left along the Tamar to Calstock, right down to Cotehele Quay with its small maritime museum and visitor centre. |
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Location: signed by lanes from A390 2 miles W of River Tamar |
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| This must surely be
Cornwall's most self-effacing garden. Although open for 6 hours every
day from February to October, you will find little mention of it in the
usual sources. And there are none of the usual signs pointing to
the garden, not even to the hamlet of Creed. An unsigned turning,
a third of the way up Grampound's main street is actually Creed Lane.
A mile down that you turn left just after the church and turn in the first
gate on the left. It is worth doing so.
The Croggons came to Creed House, the former Rectory, in 1974. The garden had been neglected for years and it was some while before they discovered extra buildings hidden under brambles and bindweed. Since then they have been steadily planting and improving and are now clearing some additional woodland. There are fine specimen trees - both young and old, several small ponds, a stream garden, a bog garden, shrub and herbaceous borders and a couple of lawns. Behind the stable yard is a walled garden with colourful planting around a lawn. The overall effect is very tranquil. Whilst here do take a look at the light and airy church, nestling below the garden, where my father's cousin Bertie was rector for a few years before going to St. Just in Roseland. |
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| Location: 1 mile south of Grampound by unsigned lane |
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| In the same family since Norman times, and reputedly the first Cornish garden to receive public attention, Enys seems to be spoken of with something like awe. Garden writer Timothy Mowle refers to it as 'a sleeping beauty of a garden'. Douglas Ellory Pett, Cornish garden expert, has a brief description in his Cornwall Gardens Guide. So, learning that a Trust had been formed to restore Enys and had applied for Heritage Lottery funding for that purpose, and that it was open a couple of days a week from March to October (and on the first Sunday of each month), we thought that, despite references to 'the first stages of romantic decay', it could be worth visiting. We did so on the first Sunday of May 2006. So did about a thousand others. We are sorry to say that we were very disappointed. We should have guessed, when we passed the gloomy-looking four-square Regency house, looking for all the world like a run-down Anglo-Irish home, that little had been done to the garden except the clearance of a few paths. We would have been right. Nowhere looked as if any effort had yet been made and few rhodos, azaleas or magnolias were in bloom. The guide leaflet was misleading and most people were losing their way in woodland that should have been marked off-limits. The lakes that Pett refers to were not accessible. Frankly, nothing was worth seeing except the wonderful blankets of bluebells in Parc Lye. |
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| Our view: If funding obtained, Enys may be worth seeing in 5-10 years |
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| In late March 2008 I visited Carclew near Perranarworthal, open under NGS aegis. It reminded me of Enys, a disaster area needing 10 years restoration work. As it is, half the site is closed off, the rest is muddy and gloomy. The ornamental lake is in a terrible state. |
| Cornwall's south coast is full of sub-tropical valley and ravine gardens, many created by the Falmouth Quaker ship-owning Fox family - Trebah was the work of Charles Fox, Glendurgan of Alfred. The 40 acres run down a valley to the tiny hamlet of Durgan (you can rent a National Trust cottage) on the Helford River. Specimen trees and tree ferns are quite superb. In spring daffodils, primroses and bluebells provide good early colour; they are followed rapidly by giant magnolias, camellias and rhododendrons. Hydrangeas, other shrubs and wild flowers provide summer colour. There is a large maze of low laurel hedges. As always with the National Trust, maintenance is immaculate. For a pub lunch try the Red Lion at Mawnan Smith or (at quiet times) the Ferryboat Inn at Helford Passage. If you are interested in following up the Fox Quaker association try the charming Come-to-Good Meeting House near the National Trust's Trellisick Garden |
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| We had intended to
visit the remarkable Headland Garden at Polruan for a long time.
It was only when we learned that the garden at Readymoney
Cove would be open during
Fowey's 2006
Daphne
du Maurier Festival that we saw the chance to combine the two.
We parked above Readymoney Cove (expensive), walked down to the garden
there, then took the little passenger ferry across to Polruan to see Headland
Garden.
There has been a garden of sorts here since the house was built around 1900. However, what you see now was very much the creation of Jean and John Hill from 1974. How anyone could create a garden on so precipitous, rocky and exposed a site is almost beyond belief. But the result is quite remarkable, narrow paths - and it is said 500 steps - wind up and down the site, through surprisingly lush plantings, protected by Monterey pine, mountain ash, escallonia and euonymous. Exotics like agave, aeonium, mesembryanthemum and aloe sprout from rock crevices. Osteospermum, hebe, red hot poker and the baby sun-rose all flourish. In spring primroses, foxgloves and bluebells grow wild. Views are ravishing - up the River Fowey, across the estuary to Fowey, Readymoney and St. Catherine's Castle. May-Aug Thursdays p.m. in aid of the RNLI. |
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| Battery Lane, Polruan. Car parking at top of Battery Lane. |
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Created by Henry Hawkins Tremayne in the late 18th century, Heligan was left untended in 1914 when the estate workers went to war. Later the house became apartments and the Victorian gardens went to rack and ruin. Tim Smit started restoration in 1991. Astonishingly, much original design remained under years of rampant growth. Vast areas have been revealed, restored and replanted. Of over 200 acres, the estate divides conveniently into four. Most accessible are the Northern Gardens with colourful borders in the Sundial Garden; immaculate vegetables, fruit and flowers for cutting ; melons and pineapples in the Melon Yard; a small Italian Garden and a Northern Summerhouse Garden; a Rockery Ravine; and giant rhodos in spring. A long walk leads to The Jungle where a steep boardwalk guides you through lush sub-tropical growth with pools, giant gunnera, tree ferns and bamboos. A separate path leads to the Lost Valley with mature trees, small lakes and charcoal kilns. On the eastern periphery are a hilly 'Farm Walk', wildflower meadows and a Wildlife Project. Entrance is expensive so value demands that you cover at least the Northern Gardens and Jungle. There are food outlets at two locations but food is ordinary. There is a good farm shop in the car park. Best in summer, Heligan is a vast operation and gets very busy. Stout footwear advisable. |
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Off B3273 St. Austell-Mevagissey. More Images and Heligan 2007 |
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We couldn't resist
Heligan's May 2007 offer of free entry for Cornish residents, particularly
as the entry charge has become quite hefty now, though still well worth
it for the vast size and variety of the garden. So, in mid May, off
we went for an afternoon visit. We nearly didn't go in; it
was pelting down when we arrived but, by the time we had finished Jane's
excellent home made pasties, the clouds were lifting and the sun came out
after a while. We did the whole garden - Northern Garden, Jungle
and Lost Valley - and spent three hours there; you could well take
longer.
Since we were last there not a lot has changed but much has matured beautifully. In the Northern Garden the Ravine has filled out well and is now a marvellous rockery; the restored Greenhouse from Pencalenick was new to us; and we were delighted to see the 'handkerchief' bracts on the Davidia Involucrata in the Sundial Garden. The Jungle really does have the feeling of a jungle now and the boardwalk all round it is a superb way of seeing it all. The Lost Valley has matured most of all and, where clearance and restoration had left it inevitably bare, now it is a paradise of lushness. Catering remains simple but good, car parking now covers a vast area and Lobbs Farm Shop in the car park has been extended and has become a venue in itself. |
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More images of Heligan |
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Hidden Valley at Treesmill near Tywardreath
| We visted Hidden Valley in April, when it was almost bare. However, tickets allow entry throughout the year so we went back in July 2006 when we also revisited Marsh Villa. Since this is a nursery with garden, the garden is nothing special - good herbaceous borders but little more. Not worth going out of your way for, though the plants for sale are good. |
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The Japanese Garden at St. Mawgan
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This is an unexpected
place to find in Cornwall where, when you think of gardens, you first think
of spring gardens. Essentially it is a showplace for the attached
nursery. We visited too early in the year to do the garden justice
though perhaps that meant that we able to see the form better for the lack
of flowering content. We must revisit when the azaleas are in bloom.
Compared with our favourite Japanese gardens - at Kildare in Ireland and Tatton Park in Cheshire - this is of relatively minor interest. A pleasant enough garden but lacking any outstanding features. And we have to comment that maintenance was not what you might hope for. Perhaps it will be better next time. |
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Although Ken-Caro
Garden is open from March for snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils and
camellias, followed by March and April magnolias and rhodos, we feel that
this is really a summer garden. So we made our first visit in late
July 2006, the time of year when the hostas, astlibes, day lilies, ligularias,
hydrangeas and herbaceous plants have come into their own.
Kenneth and Caroline Willcocks (hence Ken-Caro) started their garden in 1970, planting trees and hedges for shelter on this high, formerly windswept, site on the very fringes of Bodmin Moor. Since then they have steadily extended their garden to the point where it now covers four acres - it seems more, thanks to cunningly winding paths on the sloping site. Superb views into Devon, north-west to Kit Hill and Dartmoor, south-west beyond Plymouth. This is a delightful garden, enhanced by three ponds, thoughtful planting and quite unexpected juxtaposition of strong colours. Maintenence is good, thanks to one full-time and several part-time staff. It surprised us that we were the only visitors on a warm sunny day. Ken-Caro garden deserves many more to enjoy its charms. There is a pub just down the road in St. Ive but we preferred the Crow's Nest near Trethevy Quoit. |
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More Images of Ken-Caro Garden |
More Images of Ken-Caro Garden
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We don't usually review
private gardens that open only on one day a year (open also for groups
by appointment) but we were so impressed by the garden at Ladock House,
not far from Trewithen Garden, that we just had
to include a description and a few photos. The occasion was a late
April 2007 opening under the charitable aegis of the worthy National
Gardens Scheme. When the Holborrows came to this former rectory
in the 1960s, it wasn't only the house that was in need of loving care.
The garden was something of an overgrown jungle and, in due course, the
woodland was thinned and the scrub removed. This being Cornwall,
and the soil being somewhat acid, major planting was of rhododendrons and
azaleas.
Paths lead through what is now relatively light woodland, revealing all the time more enticing views of the fine collection of rhodos and azaleas. Thanks to a few hedges, the impression is rather of a compartmented garden, though much less so than Hidcote or Sissinghurst. The range of colour is surprisingly wide, and there are even several yellow rhodos, amongst our great favourites. Timing of this opening was good, not just for the shrubs but also for the bluebell walk, still lovely if rather colonised by white alium. We spent 1½ hours wandering then enjoyed a good tea in the sheltered courtyard. A very successful visit. |
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More images of Ladock House Garden |
More Images of Ladock House Garden
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The jewel of Cornish coastal villages, and a long-standing favourite of ours, St. Mawes is an attractive small sailing resort on the Roseland peninsula, with its own sheltered harbour at the mouth of the little Percuil River. The village is bright and colourful; white-washed cottages under roofs of slate or thatch, and flowers everywhere, enhance its distinctly Mediterranean charms. Above the village, at its western end, one of Henry VIII's coastal castles looks across the broad waterway of Carrick Roads to its twin atop Pendennis Point by the busy port of Falmouth. Just up the hill from the castle is lovely Lamorran House Garden. Created since 1982 by the Dudley-Cookes, it too has a very Mediterranean feeling with terraces, statuary, mock temple ruins and exotic planting. It also has a very secret feeling as narrow paths wind down through luxuriant growth: Chusan palms, Himalyan fan palms, brilliant azaleas, rich succulents, bright acers, agaves, aloes and mesembryanthemums - and water features. At its best early in its season; later it gets over luxuriant but less colourful. If we have a complaint it is that Lamorran opens too infrequently. |
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| Because, when we go
to Lanhydrock, we usually go to walk the estate - in woodland and by the
River Fowey - we tend to forget how lovely the garden is in spring.
But on May Day 2006 we also paid due atention to the garden which really
comes in three parts. Above the house is a Spring Hillside Garden,
full of fine rhodos, azaleas, camellias and magnolias. At the level
back of the house and church are more spring shrubs and new herbaceous
beds. At the front and side of the house are lawns, clipped yews
and seasonal formal beds. On our visit the beds set colourful tulips
within drifts of forget-me-nots, a delight. As ever with the National
Trust, maintenance is immaculate, despite the numbers that come to enjoy
the house, garden and estate. If you do visit, allow time not just
for house and garden but also for a walk down the Avenue and along the
river from Respryn Bridge. But beware the tea room in the coach yard,
where service ihas occasionally been rather ill-mannered.
See also Lanhydrock House and Estate |
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Long Cross Victorian
Garden is not far from our home in Wadebridge
- it is at Trelights, near Port Isaac
- so a visit was long overdue when we went there in June 2006, after a
walk
along the coast path from Pentireglaze Farm to Port
Quin. Cornwall's north coast is a notoriously difficult place
to create a garden - exposure to salt-laden winds off the Atlantic ensure
that. So it was quite a feat when Captain Allardyce succeeded in
making the garden around his Victorian home high above the sea. It
must have taken him a long time, too, creating a shelter belt with Monterey
Pines and planting hedging to protect individual compartments.
Sadly the garden was much neglected in the latter part of the 20th century, when the house became a hotel. Equally sadly, the owners' claim that, after 15 years of restoration, "the gardens are now back to their former glory", is in no way true. Pines are long past their effective best, leylandii hedges are almost bare, planting is very sparse in places and maintenance is poor. Only the pool garden has any attractions. To compound our disappointment, we treated ourselves to a cream tea on the handsome new raised deck. That was just as bad with poor scones and cheap and tastless jam. A real disappointment. |
| The Stevens' ancestral farm has been turned into probably Cornwall's finest summer garden. Since 1985 Judith Stevens has gradually created a compartmented garden of great variety - she was still working on a new rock garden when we were there in April and July 2006. Specimen trees and escallonia hedges are carefully planted to lead from one area to another - a colourfully bordered Square Garden, underplanted light woodland, a Sunken Garden, a large pond with waterlilies and a path all round. Beyond the main garden, marshland is being reclaimed and paths cut through it. Mrs Stephens is always happy to chat with visitors. Mr. Stevens gives entertaining introductory talks and takes guided tours. A lovely garden, worth visiting time and again. |
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Mount Edgcumbe Gardens and Country Park
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Mount Edgcumbe is something of a paradox. On the one hand there is the House and Earl's Garden, comparatively little visited. On the other hand there is the country park and 'formal gardens' which act as a lung for the unprepossessing city of Plymouth which lies across Plymouth Sound. We have enjoyed (and reviewed) the house in September 2004. The Earl's Garden, by the house, includes a parterre, shrub borders, sweeping lawns and a shell house. Previously we had enjoyed the 'formal gardens' and walked the coast path through the park to lunch in Kingsand. The almost 100 acres of park, all overlooking the water, includes formal gardens in the English, French and Italian styles, informal Rose, American and New Zealand gardens, a National Collection of Camellias, woodland with a variety of mature trees, classical and gothic eyecatchers - Milton's Temple, Lady Emma's Cottage, a folly, an arch and several 'seats' with views. It also includes nine miles of Cornish Coast Path, from its beginning, where Cremyll ferry disgorges its foot passengers from Plymouth, way past Rame Head - topped by an 11th century chapel - and on into Whitsand Bay. There are three car parks, one in Cremyll, two on the estate, one free. There is a good pub in Cremyll, the Edgcumbe Arms, and another good one in Kingsand, the Halfway House. There is a tearoom in the Orangery. Park and formal gardens are free; there is a fee for the House and Earl's Garden |
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A38 Plymouth-Liskeard, take A374 (Torpoint), and follow brown signs |
Northwood Farm Water Garden near St. Neot
| This is a most surprising place. The last thing you expect to find at around 700 feet, on the windswept heights of Bodmin Moor, is a luxuriant water garden filled with exotic plants. But, if you can read a map, and don't mind risking your car on the tiny blind lanes to the north of St. Neot, you will be rewarded with a couple of hours of delight. Artist Mackenzie Bell and his partner Justin Stubbings acquired the house, a converted former china clay dry, in 2004. There was a garden with pools but it was then a wilderness. Now, after taking in a further 2 acres of boggy pasture, there are 8 pools, one with a colourful island, several with sculptures and glorious water lilies. Planting is eclectic. The expected marginal plants are mixed with exotics that you might not expect to grow on Bodmin Moor. The striking blend - and sometimes clash - of colours must owe much to Mack's artist's eye, as must the sculptures, some found pieces, dotted around. In the main water garden you will also find a great bank of hydrangeas, a bog garden and a wild area. And don't miss the garden behind the house. Above a grassy terrace, where we enjoyed a cream tea, are two former granite-walled clay settling tanks, now colourful walled gardens. In front of the house is Mack's studio where his land and seascapes are on sale. Nearby, in the former stables, is what must be the 'Loo of The Year'. |  |
| 2 miles NE of St. Neot. Open Jun-mid Sep, Sun, Mon 11-5 |
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| We visited on a well attended NGS Sunday opening in late July 2008. We shall definitely go again, perhaps in June for the rhodos, azaleas and camellias. For more information on the gardens and on Mackezie Bell's paintings, do take a look at to Northwood Farm's website |
Old Mill Herbary at Helland Bridge
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This is an odd one
which, while we enjoyed it greatly in May 2006, we are a little reluctant
to recommend without more than a few reservations. The location is
an interesting one. Before the present house was built, a water mill
had stood here for centuries, fed by a leat off the River Camel, which
flows along the lower side of the garden. The Whurrs began creating
a garden here in 1984 and have worked on it ever since. We have the
feeling that they may have lost heart a bit as maintenance is somewhat
less than you might hope.
Old Mill Herbary garden comes in five parts. By the house are a small water garden and bog garden. Alongside the river is a long lawn, lightly planted as a young arboretum, all the trees named. Beyond this is the 'island', an area of light semi-wild woodland, where you wander among birches, crossing many small bridges. Alongside the lawn is a stream garden, created from the former mill leat. Above this a steepish bank is terraced with casual beds of shrubs, flowers and herbs - some might be offended by the distinctly erotic sculpture dotted sround it. We may sound a little critical but, in fact, we found it a very enjoyable, tranquil garden. There is a small car park but no teas or toilets. |
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The Whurrs forbid internet photos, hence this one of Helland Bridge |
| We have been fans
of Pencarrow - house, garden and estate
- for so long that it surprises me that it is only after a visit in mid-May
2006 that I have got round to posting an item about it. Our visit
was almost accidental. We had been to see the Old Mill Herbary garden
at Helland Bridge, had been unable to get a cup of tea there and decided
to get one at the Peacock Tearoom at Pencarrow. We were glad we did
because the bluebells, beneath beeches near the house, were superb.
You need to look upon Pencarrow as not just a garden but rather as an estate with a garden. If you have the time and interest, walk the drive as well as the extensive garden. If not, drive slowly to enjoy the lovely beech woods, the unexpected iron-age fortified farmstead and all the rhododendrons and azaleas on the way to the car park. The garden itself divides into two main parts. Lawns, mature trees and beds at the entrance front and a large formal parterre at the south front. And a walk through wild-flower woodland to Mole's Garden, a new stream garden, and on to the lake that feeds it and to North American woodland plantings. If you eat outside the Peacock Tearoom, beware hungry peacocks and doves. |
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| More Images of Pencarrow |
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In April 2008 we took advantage of a Western Morning News '2 for the price of 1' offer to visit a couple of spring gardens near Mawnan Smith in the general area between Falmouth and the Helford River. Neither Carwinion nor Penjerrick could be said to rate anywhere compared to nearby Glendurgan and Trebah. Carwinion is perhaps an acceptable 1½ hour visit for its £4 entry charge. Penjerrick is appalling value even at its lower £2.50. And yet we had had quite high expectations. A visitor to my web site (I think his name is Tilo) was so taken by Penjerrick that his son Georg created a Penjerrick web site which raves about it and quotes expert Patrick Taylor and a Western Morning News reviewer doing the same. We don't. We suspect that the present owner, a descendant of the Robert Were Fox and Barclay Fox who created Penjerrick in the mid 18th century, is resentful that the National Trust refused to accept it in 1990 and wonder whether the present regime of 'benign neglect' stems from that. The result reflects her 'jungle' philosophy but means that ponds are clogged, paths are deep in mud and few shrubs bloom. Even by the house, which was the best-kept part of the garden - with bluebells, azaleas and tall firs - was thick with dog mess. We fear that Penjerrick's underlying philosophy is less benign neglect, more contempt for the paying visitor. |
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1 mile south of Budock Water, on the road to Mawnan Smith |
| A varied garden, much admired by those of my American visitors who have seen it though otherwise generally under-rated. Within Pine Lodge's thirty acres are formal gardens, herbaceous borders, ferns, shrubs, spring woodland and an attractive new pinetum. Statuary is dotted around; one piece give its name to the colourful 'Slave' Garden. You will also find several water features - a koi pond with cascades, a water garden, a frog pond, a newt pond, a lake with black swans and bog garden. A new Japanese garden already feels surprisingly mature. Plants are labelled but not always readably. Ray Clemo is a granite fanatic so watch out for unexpected granite features. He is also a gentleman: when I visited with four Americans in May 2004, he gave them a personal tour. A fine garden with season long interest but sadly under-visited. |
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| Compared with Cornwall's many major gardens, this one, Pinsla near Bodmin, is decidedly minor. When we went in mid October 2003 we were their only visitors; we rather enjoyed having the place to ourselves, though Pinsla's claims to be a combination of Utopia, Post Modernism and ideal English gardening struck us as a little pretentious. We found it to be a very pleasant, casual acre and a half of mixed planting around a charming lodge cottage - but no more. The 'sculpture' is largely best ignored. There is a good value nursery; good teas served in the garden. |
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| We had greatly enjoyed a house tour of Prideaux Place a few years ago. Later we learned that the gardens, which had disappointed us then, were under restoration under the aegis of Tom Petherick of Heligan fame. So in July 2008 we combined a walk from Harlyn Bay to Padstow with a visit to Prideaux Place Garden. We were delighted that so much that had been closed to us before was now open. A sign led us across the bridge over the road to the quarry garden (still to be restored) and to the deer park (a small herd grazing and views over the Camel Estuary to Roughtor and Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor). Near the deer park entrance is the newly discovered well that may be St. Petroc's original holy well. A woodland walk then leads round to the formal garden. Sensibly no attempt has been made to recreate the original; instead a fountain pool with water lilies is surrounded by simple box-edged beds set in lawned areas. A massive amount of clearing has been done in the woodland areas, an avenue of limes has been planted as have spring shrubs and bulbs. The restoration still has some way to go to reach maturity but is well worth seeing, most particularly in conjunction with the house tour. We enjoyed our usual cream tea on the front terrace. |  |
| Garden open early May-early Oct, Su-Th 12.30 to 5. Also around Easter |
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Describing itself
as 'The Really Useful Garden', Probus Garden was established during the
1960s by Cornwall County Council. Its management was taken over by
the Friends of Probus Garden quite recently. Sadly visitor numbers
have been poor and now there are worries for its future. The County
Council, which still owns the site, has done a deal with a Wadebridge garden
centre to build a vast garden centre on part of the site while retaining
the demonstration gardens. The Friends fear their garden, lovingly
cared for by one full time gardener and twenty volunteers, will be 'Chelseafied'.
But the garden centre owner insists the commercial link is essential to
its future.
Regardless of fears for the future, this is certainly a place well worth seeing now - and in the future, we hope. Among its best features - apart from the superb demonstration aspects - are a 'colour wheel' herbaceous garden, a scented garden, a small Japanese garden, a winter garden and exotics, grasses, herbs, bamboos, clematis and hydrangeas. An entertaining feature is a raised map of Cornwall, rocks showing the county's geology. There is ample parking, a small shop and a tearoom. |
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2008: Sadly, Probus Garden is still closed |
| Open only during Fowey's Daphne du Maurier Festival in the latter part of May, the Reads' private garden, right by the beach in Readymoney Cove, is a casual, lush delight. Where Headland Garden, across the Fowey estuary, has had to work to create protection against the elements, Readymoney's south facing steep valley creates an ideal micro-climate for early and luxuriant growth - which suits their semi-wild style. Teas are good and the Reads are charming. Daphne du Maurier rented the house in 1942. |
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Roseland House Garden at Chacewater
| We wouldn't go out of our way for this garden but, as an August 2007 Sunday NGS charity opening visit, it made a pleasant enough brief excursion. Essentially this is the Pridhams advertisement for their important clematis nursery and it is normally open two afternoons a week in summer. When we visited we were too late for most of the clematis but we enjoyed the two pools and might visit again when clematis, wisteria and honeysuckles are at their best. |
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The renowned Fox family
had a hand in the creation of many of Cornwall's finest gardens.
Trebah, created by Charles Fox during the 1820s and 30s, is a casual and
colourful semi-wild 'ravine' garden of some 25 acres, dropping 200 feet
down a sheltered valley to a private beach on the broad estuary of the
peaceful Helford River. After some 50 years of neglect, the Hibbert
family began restoring Trebah in 1980. It is a garden of many parts
and really merits the best part of a morning or afternoon to do it full
justice. A Visitor Centre - with shop, café and gallery -
is in the form of a tea planter's bungalow. Trebah’s essence is of
Cornish Spring Garden - magnolias, camellias, azaleas and giant rhodos
- but it is much more. Central in the ravine, a stream garden meanders
through ponds and water gardens to the beach on the Helford
River; around it are first bamboos, tree ferns and Chusan palms,
later a sea of hydrangeas, brilliant in summer. High paths along
the ravine offer glorious viewpoints and superb overviews. Ample
car parking. The National Trust's contrasting Glendurgan
is nearby.
There is totally unexpected American interest here. Your curiosity may be aroused by path edges, lined by massive balks of timber bound with iron bands. Then, descending Healey’s Hill from the Eirey viewpoint, you may be surprised by its studded concrete construction, apparently made to carry heavy vehicles. Around the lower Mallard Pond you may be puzzled by revetted trench-like recesses. At the foot of Mallard Pond and on the beach of Polgwiddon Cove, all is revealed. In June 1944, Healey’s Hill carried heavy vehicles to Yankee Beach in the cove, the trenches were machine gun positions, the timber balks were part of a series of ramps leading across the beach to great platforms in the estuary, from which the US 29th Infantry Division embarked on D-Day in June 1944. |
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Location: above Helford River 5 miles SW of Falmouth |
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| We already knew the
area where the Trebartha Estate is, to the south-east of Bodmin
Moor. Some years ago we had walked from North Hill, taking in
Hawke's
Tor and Trewortha Tor. In winter 2006 I had passed through, and
admired, Trebartha village, whilst
walking the Copper Trail. So, when
we heard that Trebartha's landscape garden was to be open for charity one
day in September 2006, we jumped at the chance of a visit.
Trebartha Hall was built by the Spoures around 1500, destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1720. Trebartha then passed to the Rodds. After use in the 2nd World War as a military hospital, the hall was almost derelict and new owners, the Lathams, demolished it to build a modern house. Near the car park is a fenced-off well, inside the fencing several old crosses and a direction stone. A path then leads along the River Lynher, past the Swan Pool and into fine mature woodland where a stream casacades down the hillside. Approached separately from the car park, a series of medieval fish ponds form another garden, the pools gradually being restored and planted. We found Trebartha enchanting though not outstanding and we enjoyed the home-made tea and cakes served in the old laundry. We returned in May 2007 to enjoy the spring shrubs. |
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| Trebartha is 1 mile NW of North Hill, on the E side of Bodmin Moor |
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Tregothnan, a great estate on the River Fal
| The Boscawens acquired the estate in 1335 when John of Boscawen Ros in West Penwith married the Tregothnan heiress. The original manor house here, probably built by him, was severely slighted by Parliamentary forces in the English Civil War but had been rebuilt by 1652. What you see now is a result of an 1820s remodelling by William Wilkins. The upper part of the 100 acre garden is fairly level and geometrical. To see the very best, though, you need to head for the far corner to access the wilder sloping garden below. Throughout there are fine rhodos, camellias, azaleas and magnolias. You will also find a tree fern avenue, a series of ponds below a tea-house, a young Australian 'dinosaur tree', South American and South African collections, Cornish palms, hebes and masses of primroses. This is not a perfect place - restoration and replanting is under way - but it is sheer delight. We visited in April 2006. For group guided tours go to www.tregothnan.com |
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| An under-rated and under-visited garden, close to St. Austell, Pine Lodge Garden and Heligan, Tregrehan is the ancestral home of the Carlyons. It is a garden of two main linked parts. A large formal walled garden has well-stocked Victorian glasshouses, lawns, trees, a central fountain and herbaceous borders. Beyond is a long yew walk which feels like the dark nave of a gothic cathedral. So far, so good, but then you come to Tregrehan's best beyond this, a twenty acre woodland garden with great specimen trees, an old pinetum, an abundance of superb camellias, rhodos and other exotic shrubs, a valley with bog plants and Dicksonias, a recently planted collection of southern hemisphere trees and a blanket of bluebells in May. We visited in late April 2004 and were astonished by the rhodos, many in tree rather than shrub form - we had never seen such a range of colours. It was a very dull day but we returned in 2007 and enjoyed better weather. |
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| Developed by half-a-dozen families over 200 years, Trelissick is now in the care of the National Trust. Though best known for rhododendrons, magnolias, camellias and hydrangeas, it is also very much a summer garden. There is a fig garden, an aromatic garden, a dell with ferns, climbers, shrubs and exotic species, luxuriant herbaceous beds, a Cornish orchard and walks in the park and through woodland above the river and, since August 2004, you can arrive by ferry from Truro or Falmouth. As ever, National Trust maintenance is entirely immaculate. In the stable yard is a harness display and exhibition, nearby are an art and craft gallery, café, restaurant, plant centre and shop. Cottages (one is in a converted water-tower - on four floors!) for rent. |
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| Although situated some 400 feet above sea level in a part of Cornwall exposed to Atlantic gales, the garden is happily well sheltered. Created by Sir Edward Bolitho, Cornish banker and mine owner, it lies below the Bolitho family home. Trengwainton is essentially four gardens in one - a linear stream garden, with lilies, candelabra primulas and bog plants beside a long drive to the house; a Cornish garden with tree ferns, magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas; a terraced garden with pavilions and long views to St. Michael's Mount; and an unusual walled garden of ten compartments, most of them restored by 2006, one with a giant magnolia. Since we love Trengwainton, partly because it is so different from most other Cornish gardens, we revisited with sister Mary in April 2006. We found more of the walled garden restoration completed - one section we saw was filled with daffodils. The stream garden had been lengthened and was more luxuriant but not at its best yet; we re-visited at the end of May and it was. |
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In May 2008 we had
a busy gardens day. There are three gardens in the Lamorna Valley
- Chygurno, Trewoofe House
and Trewoofe Orchard - and, since we would be passing
it on the way to Lamorna, we decided to include Trereife as well.
Of the four, Trewoofe Orchard was the undoubted star, Chygurno the most
remarkable, Trewoofe House pleasant but not outstanding, and Trereife a
waste of time (with one honourable exception). A great bonus was
that bluebells were everywhere.
Originally the home of the Nicholls family in Tudor times, Trereife passed by marriage to the Le Grices who are still there in their handsome Queen Anne house. Several years ago we saw a news item about the restoration of Trereife's garden and thought that five years later it might be worth seeing. Sadly, it wasn't. The main feature is the vast parterre at the east front of the house. The box edging looks good but, unfortunately, each section is almost filled with straggling ceanothus, mostly obscuring the central box pyramids. Beyond the parterre south facing borders are too empty. Only a very little of the woodland is accessible. In fact, about the only thing we liked about Trereife was Christine's Country Kitchen- good breakfasts, good pasties, good cakes, good coffee. |
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On the A30, just west of Penzance |
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You learn eventually
that you should not rely on first impressions, sometimes not on second
impressions. We had visited Trevarno in 2003, not long after it opened
and were distinctly unimpressed. I had taken visitors in 2004 and
their view was much the same. Then we went back in April 2006 and
changed our minds. In 2003 little had been restored bar the lake.
Now, although the walled gardens are still under restoration, all is immaculate
- lake, Victorian boathouse, cascade, sunken Italian garden, lawns, serpentine
yew tunnel, walled garden, bog garden and rockery. Trevarno is hardly
Cornish, even a camellia we spotted was an unusual rich creamy colour.
Nor is it a garden in the conventional sense, rather it is an ornamental
park - and a thoroughly delightful one at that.
Clearly Trevarno is a commercial exercise. Even before you get to the garden proper, you encounter a museum of gardening, a toy museum, a vintage soap collection and shops selling Trevarno soap and organic skin care products. In the house is a large (and good) gift shop and attached is a delightful conservatory tea rooms - with superb cakes and good cream teas. But don't let all this distract you from the delights of the garden, which will certainly repay at least an hour's visit. |
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More images of Trevarno |
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| Until recently the far west of Cornwall has been short of gardens, only Trengwainton and St. Michael's Mount rating a mention. Now Trewidden (not to be confused with Trewithen) Trewoofe, Trewoofe Orchard and Chygurno are all open and enjoyable. Trewidden is not a new garden, only new to public opening. The Bolithos have been in this part of Cornwall since time immemorial, their garden has been around for long enough to have a magnolia named in its honour. A large and varied garden of lawns, spring shrubs, flowers, woodland, tree ferns and ponds, Trewidden is best known for its collection of over 300 varieties of camellias and for its superb magnolias, one of which is claimed to be the largest veitcheii in the British Isles - which is saying something if you have seen those at Caerhays. A multitude of waymarked paths wind around the garden, leading to a bluebell wood, a tree fern dell (magnificent Dicksonias), a rock garden, a pond garden and much more. There is ample car parking and simple refreshments are available. |
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This is one of Cornwall's
most admired gardens. The government grants it official Historic
Garden Grade II status; Good Gardens Guide awards it a top-ranking
two stars; the Michelin Green Guide gives it a top three stars;
and the Royal Horticultural Society's Garden Finder offers a rave review.
We first visited in early March, at a time when little was out except a
few spring shrubs - it was beautiful then. In 2004 we were there
in early April and were overwhelmed by the beauty and sheer amount of colour.
Trewithen is essentially a spring garden but is quite unlike many others
in Cornwall, not in a coastal valley or ravine but on a well sheltered
level inland site of some 35 acres, planted by George Johnstone in the
early 20th century and now immaculately maintained by the Galsworthys,
who have added a number of features including a viewing platform and the
magnolia fountain. Since our 2003 visit a valley with a series of
ponds has been opened up, cherries and heathers have been planted and new
herbaceous borders are planned. The garden is open from March to
September; the house and its small walled garden open only two days
a week from April to July.
Whilst several guides suggest Trewithen is worthwhile throughout its season, our view is that there is insufficient colour other than in spring. Access, off the main St. Austell-Truro road is easy and there is plenty of car parking. There is a most informative half-hour video and the tea room serves delicious fresh cakes and pastries - and clotted cream. We were able to take a house tour in late-August 2004 and have a separate report on our Homes Page. Because the house tour is so interesting and so well done, we recommend that the very best time to visit Trewithen is on a Monday or Tuesday in April or May to enjoy both the house and the spring garden at its best. |
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Location: signed off A390 at Probus, 7 miles E of Truro and half-mile east of Probus Garden |
More Images of Trewithen Garden
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Trewoofe House in the Lamorna Valley
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In May 2008 we had
a busy gardens day. There are three gardens in the Lamorna Valley
- Chygurno, Trewoofe House and Trewoofe
Orchard - and, since we would be passing it on the way to Lamorna,
we decided to include Trereife as well. Of
the four, Trewoofe Orchard was the undoubted star, Chygurno the most remarkable,
Trewoofe House pleasant but not outstanding, and Trereife a waste of time
(with one honourable exception). A great bonus was that bluebells
were everywhere.
Trewoofe House is at the head of the Lamorna Valley, very close to Trewoofe Orchard. Both benefit from small streams that later join to flow down to Lamorna Cove. The house was built in 1913 for Charles and Ella Naper, members of the Lamorna Colony, an offshoot of the Newlyn School of 'plein air' artists. It is now the home of their neice Mrs. Pigott, who has developed the garden in a delightful casual style. There are large and colourful island beds, New Zealand shrubs, hostas, hellebores and some rhodos and azaleas. The charming stream garden has lovely irises and some unusually coloured candelabra primulas. There s also a small orchard and a well stocked greenhouse by the house. We enjoyed Trewoofe House Garden but not as much as Trewoofe Orchard. |
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On B3515 Newlyn-Lamora road, just before the Lamorna turn |
Trewoofe Orchard in the Lamorna Valley
| In May 2008 we had
a busy gardens day. There are three gardens in the Lamorna Valley
- Chygurno, Trewoofe House
and Trewoofe Orchard - and, since we would be passing it on the way to
Lamorna, we decided to include Trereife as well.
Of the four, Trewoofe Orchard was the undoubted star, Chygurno the most
remarkable, Trewoofe House pleasant but not outstanding, and Trereife a
waste of time (with one honourable exception). A great bonus was
that bluebells were everywhere.
Like Trewoofe House, Trewoofe Orchard had its origins in the Lamorna artistic colony. The attractive house, approached by a driveway through woodland, was built in 1912 by philosopher Alfred Sidgewick and his novelist wife Cecily Ullman, both part of the colony's social circle. One of the gardens great attractions is its division into two by a stream. On the house side of the stream are island beds, several levels of borders and some spring shrubs. Along the stream are a waterfall, a pond and ferns, bamboos and arum lilies. On the far side of the stream is beech and oak woodland, paths meandering through it. At the time of our visit the woodland was blanketed with bluebells. We had a long chat with owner Mrs. Waterson which made our delight with this, our favourite garden of the day, even greater. |
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| On B3515 Newlyn-Lamora road, opposite the Lamorna turn |
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| Trist House was built around 1830 by Samuel Trist, vicar of Veryan and son of the man who built the village's famed 'round houses'. Much of Samuel's garden had been lost when Graham and Brenda Salmon bought the house in 1994. They have restored some features - including Italianate terraces and a giant rockery - and added many more. For a garden that is mostly only ten years old it seems remarkably mature. Amongst the delights are a rose pergola, a hydrangea walk, wisteria beds, a dell garden, a wild rose garden - and the view from the house over the Italianate terraces to a luxuriantly planted border. Do be sure to include the part of the garden across the drive or you will miss some of these features and the large rockeries which are under restoration. Cream teas are served in a charming courtyard behind the house. There is only a small amount of parking but it rarely gets busy. Just up the Portloe road in Veryan |
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'Secret' Gardens of Portscatho and Gerrans
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In June 2005, the
good folk of Portscatho and Gerrans on the Roseland peninsula got together
to open their gardens to the public for charity. So many volunteered
that they had to open on two Sundays instead of the originally proposed
one. A few were only makeweights but we were pleasantly surprised
by the overall standard - after all, these are not the gardens of professionals
but of amateurs.
Highlights of our first visit. Rosteague, ancient manorial estate being revitalised by new owners. 17th century house surrounded by ancient gardens; 'French' garden, box-hedged parterre with thatched summerhouse. Old Chapel, vibrant sloping garden, long views. Highlights of our second visit. Highfield at Trewithian, an informal, partly wild, organic garden with a delightful small pond and dry beds around the house. Ruan House, an immaculate garden combining slopes and terraces, with a lovely pond. 'Pimms and nibbles' in the Rectory garden of Father Doug, who officiated so well at Jeremy and Mimi's wedding; inside the Rectory we enjoyed Doug's own art and his collection of doll houses. Finally tea in the delightful courtyard of friends Lynnette and Bruce. |
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A hot and sunny July
2006 Sunday - the real heatwave was just getting under way - and we headed
off for one of our favourite weekend occupations, visiting a collection
of village gardens, this time at St. Tudy,
just 15 minutes away from our home in Wadebridge. St. Tudy is a widely
spread village so it took quite a lot of walking to cover seven gardens
- plus, of course, tea. The eighth was far enough away from the village
that we drove there. It was all well worth the effort. Parking
was no problem, not the usual field but ample space around around the village
centre. A map was provided and gardens clearly signed at their entrances.
Garlands House and Cavalier Cottage are at the heart of the village; both are charming in quite different ways. Glebe Cottages are retirement housing and the gardens are all linked - and presumably maintained as one with small individual details by the residents. Brideswell, way down Tremeer Lane, has a stream along one side and a delightful small lake. Owletts, the out-of-the-village one, is a charming designer garden by a superbly converted barn, owned and created by Jane's keep-fit friend Catherine. Teas were served in the 'clink' - once the village lock up - inexpensive and satisfying. We took ours at a table outside. |
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