Yesterday was beautiful. In spite of the weather report, which we didn't believe, we set out through Redruth and Truro to find these wonderful gardens buried deep in the countryside of Cornwall. In 1777, the Tremayne family, who had held the estate since the 1500's, embarked on laying out a garden. Over the next 150 years, they turned their estate into this magical place. The gardens reached their zenith during the turn of the 20th century. In a short time, after losing 16 of their 23 gardeners in WWI, it fell into disrepair.
It remained in a state of shambles until 1990, when a board, put together by the Tremayne family, began the job of bringing it back to former glory. Blackberry brambles and ivy had covered everything. It's amazing to see the before and after pictures. It is very much a working garden and in the veggie and orchard parts they are comitted to saving the heritage vegatable and fruits. The tea room serves meals made with their harvests - which we had to sample. We wandered for hours and saw about 1/2 of what there is to see.
What a great story! I love the shot of the tiny bird with the ivy. Looks like Geo and Malcolm are 'armed'. Are there hooligans near Heligan? No News from the North yet. The wind is blowing a gale in the south - two semis were blown over near Ft. Macleod yesterday. k
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