Tresco Abbey pt. 2 - The Mediterranean Garden and Middle Terraces

When Augustus Smith died in 1872, he left the estate to his nephew, Thomas Algernon Dorrien-Smith. Fortunately, Dorrien-Smith continued to maintain the gardens and make improvements. He also started a cut-flower daffodil business that supplied flowers to the mainland.  

Tresco Abbey has remained in the Dorrien-Smith family to this day, with each descendent adding their own personal touches to the garden. The present owner, Robert Dorrien-Smith, inherited Tresco Abbey in 1973 at the age of twenty-two. He and his wife Lucy have since made numerous improvements, including building the Mediterranean Terrace, adding sculptures and most notably, establishing the Tresco Heliport, that transports visitors to the island from Penzance.

There have been two devastating events in the garden. In 1987, a rare and destructive snow and prolonged freezing temperatures killed 80% of the plants in the garden. That would probably discourage most people but they pressed forward and began searching the globe for replacement plants. If that wasn't bad enough, three years later a hurricane came through and destroyed 90% of the sheltering trees that shield the garden. Again, new plants had to be secured, and lath windbreaks were used to shelter the new trees until they were established.

After studying a fantastic guidebook and map that I purchased in the gift shop, I see the route I took through the garden is backward from the traditional route. That is not surprising for me although, in my defense, I don't recall any signs leading visitors in any particular direction. 

Generally, it looks like most visitors enter the garden over a long, blue wooden bridge (that apparently I forgot to photograph). After crossing the bridge, the straight pathway leads to the Mediterranean terrace that was added by the current owners.

A centerpiece of the first terrace is a bronze water sculpture replica of the Century Plant (Agave americana) designed by Cornish artist Tom Leaper.

The open-fronted gazebo is decorated in shells and mosaics by Lucy Dorrien-Smith.

The central portion of the garden is The Middle Terrace, filled with exotic plants from all over the world.

Another David Wynne sculpture, "Gaia", weighing one and a half tons, was an addition that required major planning to transport it into the garden -

The happy traveler after a most memorable day -

(Visited May 16, 2025)

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy