CORNWALL GARDENS TRUST

CORNWALL GARDENS TRUST

NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2009

Registered Charity Number 800887

Editor DFJ Pearce

 

Message from the Chairman

Dear CGT Member

Much of this letter will be in the nature of Work in Progress: generous bequests such as the McCrone Charitable Trust are being put to good use as the Primary Schools are continuing to produce interesting plans for developing their gardens and extending their pupils’ knowledge of plant production and conservation. We have been happy to fund specific gardening projects such as that St Francis C. of E. School in Falmouth and will continue to do so. An example of an on-going project has been at Trerice where Newlyn East Primary School planted out a Tudor garden with the help of Tamasin Battell, the Head Gardener, and Pamela Long. The Trust has contributed to the installation of information boards to further understanding of how our ancestors organized their gardens and what they grew in them.

 

The Secondary Schools’ gardening project, funded by the Tanner Trust, was launched by Claire Hewlett in May at Sir James Smith’s Community School in Camelford, Fentongollan Nurseries having generously provided the plants at very favourable rates. The feedback from this pilot scheme should prove very useful as other schools are being encouraged to become involved in this initiative.

 

The Trust is continuing to offer bursaries at Duchy College and the students, recommended by the College for the awards, are planning to develop their future careers in Cornwall, either as horticulturalists or garden designers.

 

As anticipated, Jill Carpenter provided a very enjoyable and varied series of garden visits in 2009. Jill is standing down after four years and I know that we would all wish to thank her for her good humour, patience and attention to detail on each occasion. Jill has helped me to plan the 2010 visits and there should be some interesting gardens to enjoy.

 

I should like to take this opportunity to thank David Oliver very much for all his hard work and expertise as our Treasurer for nearly twenty years. He certainly guided me carefully through the intricacies of the Charity Commissioners and his financial acumen has kept the Trust buoyant throughout these challenging times. We now welcome Peter del Tufo who has succeeded David and is already making his mark keeping us on the straight and narrow!

 

As promised, our 21st Birthday lunch, organized by Jean Marcus, will take place at Trelissick on Tuesday, December 8th at 11.00 when the landscape consultant, Steven Desmond, will give a lecture on the garden at Godolphin. Mr Desmond is both informative and entertaining, and his talk and especially its topic should provide an excellent opening to our 21st Birthday celebrations. We are looking forward to seeing as many members as possible at Trelissick so that we can commemorate the Trust’s first twenty- one years together.

With best wishes,

Angela Stubbs.

 

 

The Celebratory Birthday Lecture and Christmas Lunch is on Tuesday 8th December - for full details, please see the item on the back page

 

CGT garden visits next year…..

include those planned for:

 

March 11, Scorrier House (2:30 pm)

April 14, Annual General Meeting at Pencarrow (1:30 pm)

April 28, Rosteague estate on the Roseland peninsula (10:30 am)

May 7, Treventon, St Columb Major (2-30pm)

May 19, Ken-Caro gardens at Bicton near Liskeard (2:00 pm)*

June 9, St Dellan (St Loy Cove) (2:30 pm)

July 2, Bodlowen and Water’s Edge, Coverack (2:30 pm)

July 14, Tresillian House grounds, near Newquay (10:00 am)

September 4, Buck’s Head House garden near Constantine (2:30 pm)

 

*A golden opportunity:

Ken-Caro Gardens are a plantsman’s dream, with sweeping panoramic views; it’s a garden filled with year-round interest and open to the public for 6 months of the year. It is currently for sale along with two properties, outbuildings, ponds, woodland and pasture for £750,000. It is hoped to find an enthusiastic gardener who will take on this unique property for the benefit of the next gardening generation. For more details, contact Sarah Martin of D R Kivell & Partners on 01822 810810

 

SUMMER PROGRAMME 2009 Garden visit reports, part 2

 

Visit to Tregonning Lodge, Stithians

15 members met at Tregonning Lodge, the home of Jenny & Patricia Thomas on the outskirts of Stithians. Happily the sun was shining as the previous day had been continuous rain, but the stiff breeze reminded us of Stithian’s elevated position. We parked our cars on grass outside what might have appeared in passing the gates to be a large bungalow with colourful and well stocked flower beds around it. However, on entering the forecourt, the full extent of the garden opened up, sloping southwards away from the bungalow. Below the terraces around the bungalow was a vast sweep of well mown grass planted up with many trees and shrubs stretching down past a boggy area with ponds to the garden boundary and the river Kennal. Jeremy, a former woodwork teacher and headmaster from Launceston assembled us and told us that they had lived there for 10 years, taking on an old tree nursery. With much hard work they had removed many overgrown trees and planted up their own selection of interesting trees and shrubs which were well established and extremely healthy and vigorous. Jeremy assembled us into a disorganised crocodile and took us on a tour of the garden starting through the planting down the west side which was sheltered by a long stand of conifers, the last remains of the nursery, which by now were enormous. Of interest here were Catalpa, Aralia and Paulonia which had not yet flowered but were of a size and age that soon would, together with a Black Walnut and Cedar of Lebanon. We were ushered to look over a large pond with a central island complete with standing-stone rescued from an old road bridge over the river Kennal. Jeremy called it the ‘mobstone’– a Gaelic term used where he came from in South Wales. The island and the mainland were connected with a beautiful wooden bridge, constructed by Jeremy and painted a landscape-enhancing blue. The timber construction matched the gated entrance into the garden and bungalow and a pergola leading up from the top terrace to the conservatory. Having admired the pond and the splendid water lilies and tried out the bridge, Jeremy led us to the bottom of the slope where we could hear the river. We walked back up the east side, past an area of wildflower meadow with a minor stone circle of three small stones, through more trees and shrubs. We admired the outstanding unnamed Buddleja with dark violet flowers in the form of ‘Dartmoor’ and a beautifully symmetrical Monkey Puzzle tree with ten rings of branches, Magnolia soulangeana ‘Lennei’ which had not yet flowered and Euonymus alatus which promised to give splendid autumn colours. Back at the top of the slope, Jeremy left us to enjoy the planting in beds around the bungalow – very healthy roses, verbascums, penstemons and much else. There was a small rockery with an eye-catching Echeveria before we came onto the terrace to enjoy a cream tea with super home-made raspberry jam. We were fortunate to have been able to see the garden as Jeremy intimated that, having opened to the public for two years, they might not be opening in future. They found that the time involved in preparation prevented them from enjoying escapes in their camper van in the early part of summer. Many thanks go to Jeremy and Patricia. (Elisabeth Walker)

 

Visit to Highcroft Gardens. Cargreen

On a bright sunny day in late September, Highcroft Gardens in Cargreen near Saltash did not disappoint. Early autumn colours were truly fantastic especially in the ‘hot’ border – all strong yellows and oranges interspersed with many varieties of grasses.

Steep steps took us down to the lower prairie garden planted with young trees, perennials including displays of Crocosmia and more grasses, making a real jigsaw of colour. Especially stunning was the thoughtful planting of sedums and hydrangeas, blending together the strong pinks, muted greens and blues of the late hydrangea flowers.

 

Barry Richards (seen on the left of the photograph) is a wholesale nurseryman selling cut flowers but we were able to buy some young plants of those we had admired in the garden. It really was a lovely day out in this colourful garden next to the river Tamar. (Jill Carpenter)

 

A Weekend in Lincoln – AGT Annual Conference 2009

During the first weekend in September, I attended the annual conference of the AGT hosted by Lincolnshire Gardens Trust. It was a wonderful, action-packed programme put together by Steffie Shields and her team.

 

Just under 100 Trust members from all over the country enjoyed lectures by John Harris and David Robinson OBE. John is Curator Emeritus of the Drawings Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects and is an historian of architecture, gardens and architectural drawings and the author of more than 25 books and catalogues including Design of the English Country House (1985) and No Voice from the Hall, the first volume of his memoirs published in 1998. He spoke of his experiences whilst making a survey of Lincolnshire country houses for Pevsner in 1959.

 

Another famous son is, of course, Alfred Lord Tennyson, who was born in the Somersby Rectory 100 years ago this year. In his early twenties he became infatuated with Rosa Baring who was living at nearby Harrington Hall. Luckily, we were able to visit Harrington Hall Garden thought to feature in Tennyson’s poem Maud where we met a Tennyson look-alike (a member of LGT) strolling around the garden – very life-like and quite creepy.

 

David Robinson, a geographer and retired University of Nottingham Resident Tutor is also a former editor of Lincolnshire Life and The Lincolnshire Poacher and author of 22 books on Lincolnshire landscapes, places and people. He is a Life President of the Joseph Banks Society and spoke with authority and humour on the life of Joseph Banks, one of Lincolnshire’s famous sons.

 

Other visits included Doddington Hall where some members of the group became less focussed on the magnificent gardens and more interested in having their photos taken with ‘The Hairy Bikers’ who were filming a cookery programme on the front lawn. I confess to holding back from this temptation but I did pose by one of their famous bikes!

On the final day we were privileged to be able to approach the folly which is Harlaxton Manor down the impressive rarely-used main carriage drive, to be entertained by stories of the garden being flooded at Aubourn Hall and a family member canoeing across the garden to a relative’s home nearby, and to enjoy a good tea at Easton Walled Gardens. We thank you Lincolnshire for a great conference weekend.

(Jean Marcus)

 

AGT Annual Conference 2010

Next year the Conference moves to the Isle of Wight and takes place over the weekend of 1-3 October. Visits will include Osborne, Northcourt (a 15-acre EH registered garden surrounding a Jacobean manor house owned by John Harrison, former Treasurer of AGT and organiser of the IofW conference, where some lucky members will be able to stay), and Ventnor Botanic Gardens. Also on the agenda is Mottistone Manor – a NT property featuring a new garden around a C16 manor, Woodlands Vale – a Victorian coastal property designed by Samuel Teulon, Lake House – a walled garden restoration and Carisbrooke Castle to see the Princess Beatrice garden designed by Chris Beardshaw in 2009 for EH.

 

John would like to know well in advance if you are thinking of going (no commitment at this stage) so that he may gauge how much accommodation to secure.

More information from John Harrison 01983 740415 or email [email protected]

These weekends are most enjoyable and everyone is very friendly. So maybe see you there?

 

also

Wentworth Castle Heritage Trust is holding a conference entitled ‘Jacobites and Tories, Whigs and True Whigs: Political Gardening in Britain c.1700-c1760’ during August 6th-8th 2010. For further details including residential options please e-mail [email protected] or telephone 0113 230 4608

 

JD Enys Plant Discovery Day, Enys Gardens, Penryn

Enys gardens have always been a magical and somewhat mysterious place for all who visit and so it was with great curiosity that, as Chairman of the CGT, I accepted an invitation from the Trustees of the Enys Trust to attend the opening of the JD Enys Plant Discovery Day on August 6th with the promise of a cream tea. We were greeted by the two gardeners, Danielle Dixon, the Head Gardener, and Desmond Morris who was doubling up as the car park attendant for the day. Local dignitaries, the press and also members of the Enys family were present. We were given a brief, historical outline of the family which had been at Enys since the thirteenth century. Jane Wood produced an excellent biography of her ancestor, JD Enys 1837-1912, who had been one of the early plant hunters and had lived for many years sheep farming near Canterbury, New Zealand. John Enys was an ardent naturalist from childhood and used his knowledge to send rare plants back to his home at Enys where on his return, having inherited the property in 1906, he made a comprehensive list of its plants.

 

This list was brought to life as Danielle led us round the gardens pointing out significant trees and shrubs. For example, the Myosotidium hortensia, the Chatham Island forget-me-not, was first introduced to England from New Zealand by JD Enys himself. We learned too that Enys has no less than three ‘champion’ trees, that is to say, trees which are the largest of their type in the country: the Acer platanoides, the Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Variegatus’ and the Carya or hickory tree.

 

Enys is a large, even a complicated garden, and so a useful guide and map have been compiled for visitors pointing out where fine specimens such as the Judas tree, the tulip tree and the Chusan palm can be found. There is also a children’s trail which selects interesting features: for example, the roof bell or the water wheel, for the children to discover themselves. Enys is always lovely in every season but these trails bring JD Enys and his gardens to life a century later and encourage us to hope that they will still be flourishing for another century…… all the hard work by the gardeners and volunteers should then be adequately rewarded. And as for that cream tea – well - I can assure you that we all enjoyed Sue’s delicious scones and everyone can do the same on the frequent summer open days. I strongly recommend a visit: there is always something new to be seen. (Angela Stubbs)

 

 

New Memberships

 

Enclosed with this newsletter is a membership application form which you are asked to put to good use by recruiting a new member or two. Members joining now and completing a Standing Order form have an extended period of 4 month free membership which includes 3 journals with a subscription valid until March 31st 2011.

 

Please make an effort to increase our membership; a strong membership is essential for the success of the trust. Maybe you could offer membership as a gift – Christmas is not that far away - and new members will be able to join in the 21st anniversary celebrations at Trelissick.

 

 

Peggy Visick

A service has recently taken place in Falmouth to celebrate the life of Peggy Visick, an active member of the trust for over 12 years. Born in Truro in 1916 with an adventurous spirit, she was a world traveller surviving tropical disease and, in 1972 surviving the world’s first commercial airline hijack over Ethiopia. She was a dinghy sailor who became the first woman flag officer of the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club, and was also an excellent shot and horsewoman.

 

Peggy’s lifelong interest in the natural world led her to bird watching and water divining – both of which became obvious when recording for the CGT in the early 1990s at Lismore and Godolphin with the late June Fenwick. A delightful companion, she is much missed by her large family and many friends. (Margaret Burford)

 

The trust has just received the very generous gift of just over £400 from the undertakers in respect of donations in memory of Peggy.

 

Hilda Davey

It is with regret that the death of Hilda Davey is announced. Hilda, a long-standing member of the trust will be remembered for her spectacular riverside garden, Polgwynne at Feock.

 

News from the Recorders’ Group

 

At a meeting on October 21st, it was stated that the record of Headland Garden at Polruan is nearing completion. A talk entitled ‘Cultural and Historical Aspects of Trees in the Landscape’ by Ann Reynolds, archaeologist from the Cornwall Council’s Historic Environment Section will take place on April 14th at 10-30am at Pencarrow House – this will follow the AGM which starts at 1-30 pm.

 

 

CGT Website

Have you visited the newly laid out and easily accessible website? If you have, you will see the website now has a page for News Items, so if anyone has any bits they wish to advertise before, or in addition to, the regular Newsletter, (seen in colour on the website), please send you contribution to:

the CGT Secretary - [email protected]

 

Newly launched on October 30th is a website about gardens past and present and the people who created them, designers, gardeners, artists, architects, horticulturists and plant collectors.

www.gardensandpeople.co.uk

 

Help wanted

 

If you are interested in taking on any aspect of the trust’s activities - don’t hide your light under a bushel - please contact our Chairman, Angela Stubbs on 01326 250092.

Remember – Many hands make light work!

Book Review

TIN AND DIAMONDS – A FORTUNE IN THE MAKING

by Claire Leith

This book is by long-standing Cornwall Gardens Trust member Claire Leith. It tells the story of her grandfather, the mining engineer Francis Oats of St Just. At the age of 14 he worked at Balleswidden Mine; by 20 he was a mine captain at Botallack, and at 54 he was Managing Director of De Beers.

 

The book is more than a biography of a clever and travelled Cornishman. Claire provides a bustling picture of West Cornwall when “mines and their works were everywhere”, although her story starts with her ancestors moving from Ludgvan to the green treescape of Golant-by-Fowey, then west to St Just-in-Penwith. We follow the fortunes of Francis, the mines and the miners; his travels to, and the history of, South Africa and De Beers and South America.

 

Being Claire, of course, she does bring a garden into the picture, the one that Francis Oats struggled to create at the house he had built, Porthledden, at Cape Cornwall in the early 1900s.

 

Although very readable this account is not sentimental: “…the stream would have been heavy with mine waste – no flowers here then.” It’s not about gardens or garden history, but I found it fascinating.

 

Publisher: Trevithick Society (2009) (Sales: Willow Books, Tel. 01209 822011)

ISBN978-0-904040-74-6 Paperback 106 pages £4.99

 

(Shirley Barnes)

 

 

The Small Grants Scheme

 

The CGT Small Grants Scheme still continues to offer small payments to help county primary schools and also students at Duchy College. Awards are considered in detail by the Finance and General Purposes Committee acting on behalf of the Council of Management. During the past three months, the following sums have been awarded:

 

- a grant of £200 to St Francis C of E Primary School at Falmouth to help them with their plans to develop a native wildflower garden area in the school grounds.

 

- a grant of £360 to The National Trust to pay for the manufacture of interpretation boards and display material to give details about the Tudor garden that has been created by the pupils of St Newlyn East primary school at Trerice Manor near Newquay. An award of £300 was previously made to the school in 2004 to help start their garden project.

 

A further grant of £200 has been awarded to a student at Duchy College, Rosewarne to help with the purchase of books and materials needed for the final year of the course.

 

Peter Fairbank

 

 

and finally…….

David Pearce, Cornwall Gardens Trust Newsletter editor, is happy to receive short articles of information from members for publication in future Newsletters. These may be on any garden related topic, technical, personal experiences, humorous moments, cartoons etc. Please send articles to Sweet Thymes, Rose, Truro TR4 9PQ either by snail-mail or preferably by e-mail to: [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 21st Birthday CGT!

 

You are invited to a Celebratory Lecture/Lunch to be held at Trelissick Barn, Feock, Truro on Tuesday 8th December 2009, starting at 11am

 

Lecture: ‘Godolphin: a Great Garden of 1580?

Speaker: Steven Desmond FIHort FLS

 

Steven Desmond is a Landscape Consultant specialising in the conservation and management of historic parks and gardens in Britain and Europe. He will speak about the character of the late 16-century Great Garden in Britain and elsewhere and show how the layout at Godolphin can be seen to fit into this context.

 

 

Lunch:

A traditional 3-course Christmas Lunch

Coffee, Mints and Birthday Cake!

 

Cost per person: CGT Members £24.50

Non-Members £25.50

 

To reserve a place, please contact the Secretary at [email protected]

 

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