The Lost Gardens of Heligan (Cornwall, England)
In the early 1900s, prior to World War I, the garden was maintained by 22 gardeners. The outbreak of World War I brought about the tragedy as 18 of the 22 gardeners perished in the war. The years that followed and most of the twentieth century saw the gardens go into serious decline. The family owner at the time, Jack Tremayne, moved to Italy after the loss of his crew and leased Heligan . It was also used by the Army during World War II. The house was sold for allotments in the 1970s and the Heligan gardens eventually became overgrown and lost by 1990.
The devastating Burns' Day Storm in January of 1990 did have one bright spot - it uncovered some of the lost gardens and brought them to attention, particularly to Tremayne descendant John Willis, who had recently inherited the estate, along with his sister.
Willis, an estate representative, had been contacted by record producer Tim Smit (now Sir Tim Smit) to secure a plot of land to establish a farm for rare breed animals. The land that Smit was interested in turned out to be unavailable, but during their conversations, the two learned that they had a mutual interest in archeology. Willis asked Smit to take a look at the lost garden at Heligan, and thus began a collaboration that would restore the gardens to their former splendor.
One of the first things the two men discovered while hacking their way through the dense overgrowth was a privy with signatures of the gardeners on the wall. It was a somber and inspiring moment for the two men, who realized they had stumbled upon a remarkable garden.
Today, the Lost Gardens of Heligan is one of the top tourist attractions in the UK, partly due to a popular televised documentary made during the garden's restoration.
The Heligan gardens are notable for their vast collection of rhododendrons and camellias, which have now attained monstrous sizes. In 2008, the garden was awarded National Collection Holder Status by the Plant Heritage Society. There is also a jungle area, with massive gunnera, tree ferns, and many tropical plants that were brought in from other countries back in the day.
A productive farm area is home to a Victorian vegetable garden with heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables. Sir Tim also found a home for his rare breed project, and is home to a number of pigs, sheep, goats, chickens and more.
The bee boles were an interesting feature. It now exists only for decorative purposes, as this method for bee hives is no longer used -
Other areas include an Italian Garden, Flower Garden and Sundial Garden.
A light lunch at the cafe and an adjoining gift shop with some serious offerings. Boy, I could get in trouble here!
It wasn't until I had returned home that I realized that I had missed some of this garden. I don't know how it happened, but I did not see some of the garden's best-known features, such as the Mud Maid sculpture and the rope bridge. Oh well, maybe another time.
(Visited May 14, 2025)
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