Rumpole lost and found in Heligan

The lost gardens of Heligan, the second destination in the “i’m an IET workaholic, get me out of here” tour

The pedigree of this project is a little less directed than the subsequent Eden project from the same stable, it seems it all happened a bit accidentaly following a search for a location for a rare breeds pig farm.

The project is restoration of a derelict complex of gardens to reflect the practices of the victorian era.

I really enjoyed visiting these gardens, particularly because the huge productive fruit and veg gardens are at their heart and are clearly run with skills and a depth of knowlege rarely seen. The avenue of trained fruit trees thru the centre, cultivated with unquestionable expertise, is inspiring. There are rows of a vast range of vegetables, each 30 yards or more long. this is serious stuff. The staff, chatting about mortgages and children as they worked, solid, homely, important work.

I could not help noticing that the visitors’ average age was well advanced compared to the Eden progect. It helped to explain why Tim Smit was propelled toward creating a younger more accessable garden.

But this is essential stuff, it shows that it’s possible to pull back, to recreate the most desparately lost, destroyed, garden and it shows that expert gardening work is not super human,a thing of the past, it’s within our reach, if we aspire to it. After all even those olde-fashioned victorians could do it!

foot scraper, and look at that fantastic long handled fork, from the Netherlands.
Avenue of arched apple trees, in many varieties, i spotted American mother ,Lord lambourne, and Egremont Russet, all now found in Todmorden!fanned plum and cherry trees against walls, we can do this too!nectarine trees maybee one day! beautifull lakey bit!GardenersCold framesMitzumaGarlic marching toward glory!