West Cornwall feels like another country to me with its lush ferns, palm trees and brightly coloured camellias which flourish in the coastal gardens. No more so than at this time of year when most of the rest of the country is frozen and brown. Another bright winter’s day took us down to the Fal…
Tag: garden
let there be light
and shadows. When the sun shines during the winter months it is a good opportunity to go out for a few hours. A National Trust garden that stays open throughout the year is Godolphin¹ which is about 11 miles from where I live. The thing I enjoy about this garden, apart from the fact that…
Another Monday Spring Walk
To be truthful this was on a Saturday as this particular garden isn’t open on Mondays. Despite the cold wind blowing down from the Arctic the sun was shining as I headed to the Helford River and Glendurgan Gardens. And yes we’ve been here before. And in Rhododendron time, but I know how much Jo…
A Monday Spring Walk
Making the most of the spring sunshine and dry weather this April we popped over to Trelissick last Monday. Still having to book a slot means that you can’t just visit a garden on a whim. The morning began with a somewhat showery day and a bitterly cold northerly wind, but we decided to go…
Meteorological spring
We have been here before in spring, but the last time was a year ago just before the first lockdown in England. Trengwainton (NT) gardens in nearby Madron are not open all year round, but they are now, although due to the current Covid-19 restrictions you do have to pre-book so numbers are limited. And…
herbaceous borders
A herbaceous border is a collection of perennial herbaceous plants arranged closely together, usually to create a dramatic effect through colour, shape or large scale. The head gardener here obviously knows his stuff as these borders are jam-packed with plants and brilliantly choreographed. Lanhydrock is one of my favourite gardens in the spring as their…
a tapestry of colours
Usually the summer months find us close to home, but because this year we have been close to home since March, we have taken the opportunity to visit one or two gardens as they have opened. Having to book a slot means the numbers are down and anyway most folk coming to Cornwall in the…
A Romantic Garden
I wasn’t expecting to see very much on a visit to the Godolphin estate at the beginning of August. Many of the NT gardens have been closed since lockdown and staff, many voluntary, laid off so a lot of the planting that usually takes place and the regular maintenance of the gardens have not been…
from Chaos comes Beauty
On Monday we had the first dry day in over a month. A whole day of blue sky and sunshine. It was even quite warm in the sun, although the temperature only reached 11°C, but the wind was light and that made a big difference. On Monday came the news that we shouldn’t socialise any…
Six on Saturday | Scarecrows
It’s September and almost the autumn equinox – which means days are growing shorter, sunsets are getting brighter and it is time for another visit to the Trengwainton Gardens near Penzance to see this year’s wonderful Scarecrow exhibition in the walled garden. They hold it every year and with a different theme each time and…
Cornwall in Colours 