iKnow Cornwall
- Bude
- Newquay
- Eden Project
- Falmouth
- Isles Of Scilly
- Lands End
- Looe
- Padstow
- Penzance
- St Ives
- St Austell
Cornwall Accommodation
The Mammoth Eden Project near St Austell
Inside the Humid Tropics Biome at the Eden Project - It's hot!
Sub Tropical Plants Survive well in Cornwall - Visit Tresco & the Eden Project
Cornwall Gardens found especially at Eden, South Cornwall & Tresco, ScillyCornwall Gardens The Eden Project Lost Gardens of Heligan
Cornwall Gardens are world renowned, with the now famous Eden Project firmly established as one of Britain's most visited gardens! South Cornwall and the area around St Austell Bay offer a wide choice of Cornwall Gardens to visit, including the also renowned Lost Gardens of Heligan.
Move over the Isles of Scilly and discover the beautiful Tresco Abbey Gardens, which pull in large numbers of visitors. Smaller Cornwall gardens exist all over the region - with it's mild climate you'd expect nothing less in Cornwall. Check the Cornwall Gardens weblink right for a full listing of all the gardens across Cornwall open to the public.
Visiting the Eden Project
Visitors to the Eden Project are in for a treat. Two vast biomes or giant greenhouses, one a humid tropics biome and one a warm temperatures region. Also open to visitors is an area referred to as the outdoor biome, which contains more hardy plants including local Cornwall plants. Inside both biomes is indeed a celebration of nature, with plants jostling for place and care for the environment explored through not just exhibitions of plants but through artwork, lectures, storytelling, workshops and events including music events.
The Humid Tropics Biome is the largest at 240m long, 50m high and 110m wide. Trees in here, reaching upto the light, include species from the Amazon Rainforests. In total there are over 1000 plant species, with successful growth sustained since the Eden Project opened in 2001. It gets hot in here, so for visitor comfort there are plenty of sit down areas, plus drinking fountains around the Biome, with exit at Malaysian House, plus a cool room in the West Africa area for any emergencies. Expect to see such diverse plants as Rubber Trees, Cola - an African tree which contains caffeine rich seeds, a selection of palm trees and a range of Tropical Fruit plants including Mango, banana, and pineapples.
The Warm Temperature Biome is a little smaller, and is crammed with plants from the western sides of continents situated between 30û40? N or S latitude. These include regions such as California, The Med and South Africa - areas which have hot dry summers and cool wet winters. In this biome expect to see the fruits of the Mediterranean, the Citrus family, Grape Vines, Tobacco, Olives and beautiful scented plants used by the perfume industry.
The Outdoor Landscape at the Eden Project will be more familiar to visitors, covering our own regions - with a particular Cornwall plant focus here, as well as the cooler regions of America, the Indian foothills and Russia. There's a lot of area to cover on foot in the outdoor landscape area or outdoor biome, so for those visitors seeking a leisurely view, hop on the land train which starts from the visitors centre. Expect to see in this area Cornish crops like potatoes, a choice of garden flowers, all the ingredients for beer including wheat and hops accompanied by Reece Ingram fab sculptures, and a selection of ancient plants, plus plants used as part of Cornish folklore and myth.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan
Don't come here to sleep or slumber"" was the description discovered in a buried room in a wall garden, etched on a limestone wall. Also listed were the names of the individuals who worked on this garden before they presumably were broken up by the First World War. The Gardens were at their peak in the late 19th century, and had been part of the estate of the Tremayne family for 400 years. Neglected and buried, this magical garden space has been brought back to life, and Tim Smit also a notable figure on the Eden Project is one of the key figures in Heligan's revival!
Now visitors can expect to see original features restored such as the big glass houses crammed with exotic fruits, and a few contemporary additions - the sculptures around the gardens at Heligan are captivating! There's much to see, so give yourself at least half a day for this mammoth Cornwall garden experience. The Northern Gardens include the Productive and Pleasure Gardens. The Productive Gardens contain the restored glass houses and vegetable garden which would have served the family home in days of old. Move on to the Pleasure Gardens, first laid 200 years ago and full of stunning romantic plants such as Hooker Rhododendrons and Camellias, and sublime Italian Gardens, Summerhouses, a crystal grotto, a rocky ravine and even a wishing well.
The Estate gardens truly do work for the estate. Ancient woodlands abound at Heligan, check out the Lost Valley crammed with old oaks. Check out the bluebells in late spring! Magic. Timber at Heligan is put to good use, with larger trees used for furniture making. Heligan has it's own farm shop too - Lobbs Farm Shop with online shopping website to the right. Produce comes from a non-intensive and traditional mixed farm of 850 acres situated on Heligan.
Check out too the fascinating wildlife projects. Visitors are able to view wildlife on Heligan such as badgers, bats and birds via small cameras, with images projected on to big screens. The cameras do not disturb the habitats in any way.
Tresco Gardens, Isles of Scilly
There aren't any cars on Tresco - you'll notice the peace and quiet! Tresco is the biggest of the off islands at two miles by one mile. Tresco is particularly sheltered, largely due to it's position between St Martin's and Bryher, and is one of the most popular Scilly Isles for day trips. You can see why, Tresco has a stunning subtropical garden - Abbey Gardens which is spread around an equally notable Benedictine Priory.
The gardens date back to 1834 and contain a huge collection of exotic plants from around the world. Discover some rare palms and cactus here, which just couldn't survive on the UK mainland. It's all in the Augustus Smith design! He build tall wind breaks to protect the plants. For more information check the Tresco Abbey Gardens weblink right! Plants in the Tresco Gardens include Bananas, Yuccas, Chinese Paper Plants, and the striking red-flowered Xeronema callistemon which first flowered here on Tresco in 1999. Look out for the great bronze carvings by David Wynne. Abbey Gardens are open daily from 10am to 4pm and there's a shop and cafe on-site.
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