Lost Gardens of Heligan (Cornwall)

Lush Rhododendrons in a deep valley in “The Jungle” of The Lost Gardens of Heligan

The Lost Gardens of Heligan are certainly one of the most beautiful and impressive gardens in southern England! Located in Cornwall near Mevagissey there are 400 hectares of very different types of gardens which can be admired side by side: An ornamental garden and a kitchen garden, a landscaped garden with a deep valley and the „Jungle“, also located in a valley. They are always magnificently landscaped and there are exuberant rhododendrons as well as some camellias of incomprehensible size.

The garden itself has a very exciting history. Created from the mid-18th to the early 20th century by the Cornish Tremayne family, the garden fell into oblivion after the First World War and was completely neglected.

Although it was still there on the family’s property, it was not rediscovered until the early 1990s. It was unbelievably overgrown, and it must have taken a great deal of imagination to realise how beautiful the garden could be.
Nevertheless, some enthusiasts went to work and over a few years they brought the lost garden back into shape. There could not be any better name than the „Lost Gardens of Heligan“. Heligan is an old Cornish word meaning „willow trees“. In other words, the „Lost Gardens of Willow Trees“.

In the garden, there is a small area where large-scale drawings tell the story of how it was rediscovered – all under the old motto of the garden from 1914: ‚Don’t come here to sleep or snooze‘.

Note: Allow plenty of time for the Lost Gardens of Heligan (at least 3-4 hours) and good shoes! It never gets boring –and the works of art such as the „Mud Maid“ or „The Giants Head“ are really eye-catching and only become sculptures because of the plants.

Website of the Lost Gardens of Heligan with all information

The Lost Gardens of Heligan in the deepest green

The Giant’s Head in the Lost Gardens of Heligan

The Mud Maid is sleeping in the Lost Gardens of Heligan

The rhododendrons really feel at home in the Lost Gardens of Heligan

The bridge in the” Jungle” of the Lost Gardens of Heligan

On the suspension bridge in the Lost Gardens of Heligan (Cornwall)

In the Jungle of the Lost Gardens of Heligan

In the Jungle of the Lost Gardens of Heligan

Under a giant rhododendron in the Lost Gardens of Heligan

Mighty and ancient trees in the Lost Gardens of Heligan

This can also be found in the Lost Gardens of Heligan (Cornwall): A complete farm

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