The Lost Gardens of Heligan

The story of Heligan

The Heligan estate, five miles south of St Austell in Cornwall, England, was acquired by the Tremayne family in the 17^th century. A succession of Tremaynes, in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, developed the grounds and introduced a number of exotic plants that could thrive in the mild climate of Cornwall, and especially the micro-climate created by the steep-sided valley that leads away from Heligan House.

Early in the 20^th century the gardens provided full-time employment for 22 people, but then came major changes that threatened their very existence. Sixteen of the gardeners were killed in the First World War, and in the 1920s the owner decided to move to Italy and lease the house to tenants. Eventually the house was sold and the gardens were allowed to grow wild and thus be “lost”.

It was not until the early 1990s that work started to restore the gardens, this work being done largely by volunteers. The gardens are now a major attraction and a valuable resource in terms of their botanical contents and as a reconstruction of a Victorian estate garden.

What you can see

The gardens are divided into two main sections, Productive and Pleasure, which are themselves split into distinct areas.

The Productive gardens include a walled flower garden, a melon yard and a vegetable garden. More than two hundred varieties of fruit and vegetables are grown here.

However, most visitors come to see the Pleasure gardens which comprise a series of individual garden scenes. There is a New Zealand garden, an Italian garden, a crystal grotto and a sundial garden.

Perhaps the most remarkable section is the “jungle”, in which plants from tropical parts of the world are able to grow and thrive, including giant ferns and banana plants. The path takes visitors past four linked ponds that provide some wonderful vistas of the largest collection of palms and tree ferns in the United Kingdom. All that is missing is snakes and birds of paradise!

The gardens offer many surprises, including sculptured forms of maidens and giants that seem to grow out of the ground covered in plants.

It is not surprising that, since their discovery and restoration, the Lost Gardens of Heligan have become the most popular private gardens in Britain, with more than 200,000 visitors every year.

© John Welford