Highlights from Heligan

The romantic gardens of Heligan are a labyrinth of summerhouses, pools, flower beds and wildlife havens...

Heligan, seat of the Tremayne family for more than 400 years, is one of the most mysterious estates in England.

At the end of the nineteenth century, its thousand acres were at their zenith, but only a few years after the first world war, bramble and ivy were already drawing a green veil over this 'sleeping beauty'.

After decades of neglect, its restoration commenced by a small band of enthusiasts, and Heligan was recently voted The Nation's Favourite Garden by BBC Gardeners' World and now offers 200 acres open to the public.

Heligan's Victorian productive gardens are once again intensively cultivated throughout the year, growing over two hundred varieties of heritage fruit and vegetables. Thanks to the crop introductions of the plant hunters and the Victorian revolution in garden technology, pineapples, citrus, melons and peaches were home-grown for luxury consumption. Today, the Paxton glasshouses, cold frames and manure heated pineapple pit are also home to the same cornucopia of produce.
First laid out over 200 years ago, the pleasure grounds conceal an unusual series of romantic structures and unexpected features, including restored New Zealand and Italian gardens, summerhouses and pools, a superb pre-Jekyll herbaceous border, a rocky ravine, a crystal grotto and a wishing well.

A network of walks, lined by magnificent historic flowering shrubs, links these special places. Heligan's ancient rhododendron and camellia collections will not be with us much longer, but as over-mature specimens they hold an awesome and captivating grace.

Heligan's exuberant jungle garden hosts a riot of luxuriant foliage, sub-tropical plantings and specimen trees. Set in the microclimate of a steep-sided valley, the boardwalk snakes down through bamboo tunnels, palm-lined avenues, four ponds and a cascading stream, enticing you on a journey far from our temperate shores. Lose yourself amid almost pre-historic tree ferns, giant rhubarb, succulents and banana palms.

The variety of habitats throughout the gardens and estate provide a breadth of seasonal interest, including spring flowers, mosses and lichens, ferns and autumn fungi, as well as a considerable range of resident and visiting birds, owls, bats, butterflies and moths, insects, reptiles and small mammals.

Heligan is so much more than a garden restored; its own special atmosphere encourages exploration and contemplation, satisfying the broadest range of horticultural and wildlife interest.

For more information visit www.heligan.com.

Enter your comment on Highlights from Heligan