Moyclare Garden, Liskeard
The name may seem a little unusual and somewhat un-Cornish, but for a good reason. The name derives from the original owner, Moira Read, and her Irish origins in County Clare. it is now in the care of Elizabeth and Philip Henslowe. The garden at Moyclare was established in 1927, and hosts a fine variety of plants, shrubs and trees in one acre of sheltered flat ground around the house. Many are unusual and some are quite rare. After touring the garden, we enjoyed a cup of tea and a piece of cake while talking to owner Elizabeth. Public opening is April to August inclusive, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, 2 to 5 p.m. Groups may book at other times. We enjoyed our visit in late May 2019; here are a couple of the many photos I took.
Photographs
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Northwood Farm Water Garden near St. Neot
This is a most surprising place. The last thing you expect to find at around 700 feet, on the windswept heights of Bodmin Moor, is a luxuriant water garden filled with exotic plants. But, if you can read a map, and don't mind risking your car on the tiny blind lanes to the north of St. Neot, you will be rewarded with a couple of hours of delight. Artist Mackenzie Bell and his partner Justin Stubbings acquired the house, a converted former china clay dry, in 2004. There was a garden with pools but it was then a wilderness. Now, after taking in a further 2 acres of boggy pasture, there are 8 pools, one with a colourful island, several with sculptures and glorious water lilies. Planting is eclectic. The expected marginal plants are mixed with exotics that you might not expect to grow on Bodmin Moor. The striking blend - and sometimes clash - of colours must owe much to Mack's artist's eye, as must the sculptures, some found pieces, dotted around. In the main water garden you will also find a great bank of hydrangeas, a bog garden and a wild area. And don't miss the garden behind the house. Above a grassy terrace, where we enjoyed a cream tea, are two former granite-walled clay settling tanks, now colourful walled gardens. In front of the house is Mack's studio where his land and seascapes are on sale. In the former stables is what must be the 'Loo of The Year'.
Old Mill Herbary at Helland Bridge
Herbary at Helland Bridge
Pencarrow Garden and Estate
We have been fans of Pencarrow - house, garden and estate - for so long that it surprises me that it is only after a visit in mid-May 2006 that I have got round to posting an item about it. Our visit was almost accidental. We had been to see the Old Mill Herbary garden at Helland Bridge, had been unable to get a cup of tea there and decided to get one at the Peacock Tearoom at Pencarrow. We were glad we did because the bluebells, beneath beeches near the house, were superb.