Trengwainton Garden

History

The estate was purchased in around 1814 by Rose Price, whose family fortune came from sugar plantations in Jamaica worked by enslaved people. Price undertook significant landscaping before the Bolitho family, Cornish bankers and merchants, acquired the property in 1867. The Bolithos shaped much of what the garden is today. In the 1920s, the family helped fund Frank Kingdon-Ward's plant hunting expeditions to Assam and Burma. Seeds from those expeditions were grown at Trengwainton, and several plants flowered in British cultivation here for the first time. Lt Col Sir Edward Bolitho gave the property to the National Trust in 1961.

Architecture

The most distinctive feature is the series of walled enclosures in the kitchen garden area. The raised beds within them are built at a pronounced angle, designed to maximise sun exposure at this latitude and extend the growing season. The arrangement is thought to date from the early nineteenth century. No architect has been confirmed.

Worth knowing

The Cornish name Tredhigwenton is said to mean 'farm of eternal springtime', which, given what grows here, reads less like poetry and more like an accurate site assessment. Several plants grown from Kingdon-Ward's expedition seed flowered in British cultivation here before anywhere else.

Gardens & grounds

The collection leans heavily on tender trees and shrubs that benefit from the sheltered position and high Atlantic rainfall. Rhododendrons and magnolias are at their best in spring. A stream runs through the lower part of the garden, with moisture-loving plants along the banks. From the upper terraces, on a clear day, the views reach across Mount's Bay to The Lizard.