Favourite Landscapes - The Lost Gardens of Heligan

Map of Heligan

The Lost Gardens of Heligan comprise a 200 acre estate in Cornwall, owned by the Tremayne family, that, neglected since the outbreak of World War One, was restored in 1990. Unlike many other estates, the gardens and land at Heligan were never sold or developed after the War, so, after the inspiring discovery of a motto etched into the wall of a derelict room in one of the walled gardens, it was possible to restore the estate to its former glory. The words read ‘Don’t come here to sleep or slumber’, alongside the names of those who worked there and the date, 1914 – many of those workers went to fight in the War and never returned. This inspired the restoration of the gardens to, not only tell the stories of those who lived in Heligan House, but also the workers that had built and managed the gardens. 

Signatures of Heligan gardeners

There is a huge amount to do and see at Heligan, including:

Pleasure Grounds

Once a symbol of wealth, Heligan comprises a collection of gardens, each inspired by locations across the world, including ancient rhododendron boughs of Sikkim, Maori-carved tree ferns from New Zealand, and the Mediterranean inspired Italian Garden. Heligan is also home to a magnificent collection of historic plantings, including the collection of ‘Camellias and Rhododendrons introduced to Heligan pre-1920’.

Italian Garden

Productive Gardens

Acting as a ‘window into the past’, the Productive Gardens, which would have once served almost all of the needs of the Tremayne family and their guests, stands as an active memorial to Heligan’s original gardeners. The gardeners use traditional methods to grow over 300 varieties of mostly heritage fruit, vegetable, salad and herbs, which then supply Heligan Kitchen with fresh produce for visitors to try.

Productive Gardens

Farm

Alongside the productive gardens, Heligan is home to one of just 23 rare breed parks in the UK, comprising a variety of traditional and rare breed livestock and poultry. This includes North Devon Cattle, White Park and Highland cattle, Kerry Hill sheep, and Devon and Cornwall Longwool sheep, all of which were potentially original breeds kept within Heligan. The farmland is managed using a mixture of traditional breeds and sustainable, low intensity techniques, like the ones practiced by the original farmers. Visitors are encouraged to get up close to the land, in the hopes of educating people about where our food comes from.

Cattle

Jungle

Heligan contains the UK’s only outdoor jungle, flourishing in its position in a steep-sided valley, creating a microclimate that is at least five degrees warmer than other areas of the estate. Comprising a huge palette of plants brought back from across the world both by the original gardeners and more recently, visitors can explore four ponds, banana plantations, tunnels of bamboo and a new rope bridge that passes over it all.

Jungle

Woodland

Within the Heligan estate sits 60 acres of traditionally managed woodland. Visitors can wander along the pathways originally created 200 years ago for the Tremayne family and find a series of sculptures, including The Giant’s Head, Mud Maid and Grey Lady, all resting comfortably within the naturalistic landscapes. The gardeners partake in traditional practices of coppicing and charcoal burning.

Mud Maid

I absolutely love Heligan, to be able to visit magnificent productive gardens, farming and woodlands in the same place that you can also see Italian gardens and jungle is an incredibly unique, interesting and inspiring experience. I also admire how Heligan is encouraging visitors to get up close to produce growth and livestock farming in an attempt to make people more aware and connected to the food production cycle. I enjoy being able to ‘step back in time’ and explore gardens built hundreds of years ago to see how they were created and managed, and how things have changed since. 



References

The Lost Gardens of Heligan. (n.d.) Introduction. Available at: https://www.heligan.com/the-story/introduction (Accessed: 19 May 2021)

The Lost Gardens of Heligan. (n.d.) Pleasure Grounds. Available at: https://www.heligan.com/explore/gardens/pleasure-grounds (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

The Lost Gardens of Heligan. (n.d.) Jungle. Available at: https://www.heligan.com/explore/gardens/jungle (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

The Lost Gardens of Heligan. (n.d.) Heligan Woodlands. Available at: https://www.heligan.com/explore/estate/woodland (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

The Lost Gardens of Heligan. (n.d.) Farm. Available at: https://www.heligan.com/explore/estate/farm (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

The Lost Gardens of Heligan. (n.d.) Productive Gardens. Available at: https://www.heligan.com/explore/gardens/productive-gardens (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

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