What's on and where to go in Cornwall

Bosvigo Lane, Truro TR1 3NH
T: 01872 275774
E: bosvigoplants@talktalk.net

Bosvigo Gardens and Nursery is not the biggest garden I have ever visited, two acres in all, but certainly one of the most beautiful. Nestling in the outskirts of Truro this little gem, the creation of Wendy Perry and her husband Michael, is well worth visiting if you are a devotee of stunning garden arrangements. The garden is made up of a series of gardens within a garden, such as The Woodland, the Walled and the Vean. And the summer colour which is so unusual in Cornwall comes from anything between muted tones to vibrant splashes and this is brilliantly woven in between Spring and Autumn designs to give interest the whole year through.

St Gluvias, Penryn TR10 9LB
T: 01326 259885

It is said that Enys is considered to be the oldest garden in Cornwall and is noted in the 1709 Edition of Camden’s Magna Britannia for its fine gardens!

At Enys there are thirty acres surrounded by parklands. On arrival as you make your way down the long drive, the cattle wander freely on both sides and in the distance on the right you can see a fleeting glimpse of the Fal Estuary.

 At one time an Elizabethan house and walled garden stood proudly over looking the parklands but it was destroyed by fire in the 1820’s and in 1833 Samuel Enys employed a London architect to produce designs for the garden and for the present house, which is now sadly somewhat derelict (it has not been lived in since the War) and not open to view because it is inhabited by bats! And the garden is no longer walled around the house; but still an impressive sight nonetheless and in any case there are other walled gardens to be seen within this lovely estate.

Polruan, Fowey PL23 1PW
T: 01726 870243

Headland Garden is yet another of Cornwall’s secrets which I discovered nestling on top of a cliff looking out across the Channel on one side and up the Fowey Estuary and over to Fowey on the other; a heavenly situation if ever there was one.

Jean Hill, who has lived in this enchanting haven for 36 years, welcomed me into her home where we chatted over a cup of coffee, before she showed me around. She told me that she and her husband moved to Polruan all those years ago into a house which was in disrepair and a garden which was a rock covered with weeds.

16 Trelissick Road, Hayle TR27 4HB
T: 01736 751020
W: www.paradisepark.org.uk

Paradise Park is renowned for its birds but it also has extensive gardens and Tania Hopkinson went there to meet head gardener Chris Griffin.

Paradise Park was founded by the late Mike Reynolds in 1973 principally to house and breed rare and endangered exotic bird species, especially parrots.

The grounds extend to 14 acres around the Reynolds’ family home; previously owned by the Harvey family who had extensive business interests in and around Hayle during the 18th/19th century.

Holmbush, St Austell, PL25 3RQ
T: 01726 73500
E: office@pinelodgegardens.co.uk
W: www.pinetumpark.com

Pinetum Park now under new ownership, run by Head Gardener George Kestell, and formerly known as Pine Lodge Gardens, has undergone, and is looking forward to, some interesting changes, (no less its name)! 30 years ago Ray and Shirley Clemo commenced the planting of what has now become a magnificent and diverse garden.

This thirty acre estate sprawling across land just outside St Austell is made up of several different gardens such as Pinetum Park, The Winter Garden, the Slave Garden, to name a few and a lake housing breeding fowl, a nursery which sells a vast array of plants and tearooms sited on the fine Victorian cobbled Courtyard.

Helland Bridge, Bodmin PL30 4QR
T: 01208 841206
E: oldmillherbary@aol.com

The Old Mill Herbary is situated in a beautiful valley setting adjacent to a long stretch of the River Camel.  Research has established that Helland Bridge with its adjacent water mills, were part of the Colquite Estate and are mentioned as early as 1586 when the rent was 2/- per annum. There was a Hop Yard of 1 acre in September 1653, with an Herb Garden and Orchard in August 1775. The garden now comprises five acres of semi-wild terraced gardens on a steep south-facing bank. There are ancient woodland walks and a mini Arboretum of approximately 1½ acres sporting some 40 named and unusual trees.

Kestle Mill, Nr Newquay TR8 4PG
T: 01637 875404
E: trerice@nationaltrust.org.uk
W: www.trerice.com

Trerice is by no means your average garden and I wouldn’t suggest you should go there just for the plants, however go you certainly should! The garden comes with the house as an historic monument; so rich in history it makes my spine positively tingle. Trerice has been in the Arundell family for 13 generations over about 400 years; imagine that! And it was one of the Arundells who was responsible for bringing back from Holland the earliest example in England of curved gables which can be seen on the front of the house. The Arundells were a very wealthy family and quite ostentatious one can see an example of their wealth through the number and size of the windows (in Tudor times having windows was a sign of riches). The house was sold to the Acland family in 1802, changing hands several times before it was finally acquired by the National Trust in 1953.

Isles of Scilly TR24 0QQ
T: 01720 424105

Three “tiers” for Tresco.

Mike Nelhams, Curator of the world famous Tresco Abbey Garden, gives us a brief outline of the wonderful garden.

Picture if you can a small island no more than two miles long and thirty miles from the south west tip of England. On that island within the Isles of Scilly group sits Tresco Abbey Garden and within that garden there exists what can only be described as a unique collection of plants from the Mediterranean climate zones of the world.
A regular combination of mild wet winters and hot dry summers, a small temperature range and high humidity, coupled with external shelter protection enable the garden to be able to replicate the conditions from all five recognised Mediterranean floral regions, which are concentrated between latitudes 30 degrees and 45 degrees.