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| Cornwall, best for... Gardens and Gardening |
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Page 1 of 3 The garden capital of the world by Gillian Kingsland It is no wonder that garden enthusiasts and keen gardeners flock to the Duchy or that Cornwall is often called the garden capital of the world. With the friendly welcome, willingness of its gardeners to talk gardens and with the temperate climate that encourages such lush and colourful growth of subtropical plants, palms and ferns to grow in suburban gardens the Duchy is a Mecca for the gardener, plant-lover and those who simply adore the colour and scents of a well planted garden. You’ll find plants everywhere, not just in the gardens. Look carefully and you will see fuchsias growing, sturdy and vibrant, in the hedgerows among the ferns, shrubs and saplings that are part of the Cornish stone hedge.  Giant Gunnera at Trebah. Cornwall is proud of its gardens, large and small, and has a tradition of both plant collecting and plant collectors. William Lobb (1809 –1864) was a Cornish plant collector employed by Veitch Nurseries and is little known today. He was an avid collector of plants and spent 23 years exploring South America and North America recording and collecting plants. He was responsible for the commercial introduction to Britain of the Monkey-Puzzle tree from Chile and the massive Sequoiadendron giganteum, or Californian Wellingtonia from North America. Lobb brought some 300 new plants to Britain many of which still flourish in Cornwall. Much of the wealth amassed by mine owners was channelled into Cornish gardens, so it is unsurprising to discover local connections to the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens. |
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