There are four different sorts of Cyathea ( brownii, cooperi, dealbata and medullaris), huge-leaved tetrapanax, rare acers (collected by Dr Armstrong in Vietnam), magnolias, bamboos, scheffleras and palms. There are some pretty staggering plants here and you can hear the excitement rise as he talks about them. Subtly, the mood has changed to a sort of sub-tropical groove. The path then turns into a timber boardwalk where the native trees are augmented by towering ferns, large-leaved magnolias and other, more exotic plants. When you first wander into the garden, you enter a tunnel of vegetation that follows a stream that cascades through various pools down the hillside. ‘The purpose is to create an Arcadian place where you’re transported from everyday worries and concerns,’ explains Dr Armstrong.Ī path winds though the arid dry garden in the upper part of the landscape with Bananas, Agapanthus, Restio Elegia capensis and Hemerocallis.
The first steps were to plant shelterbelts to the north and the east of the site (Cornwall may have a mild climate, but it can be fearfully windy) of Pinus radiata, evergreen oak ( Quercus ilex) and assorted sturdy native trees.
With no big house to worry about, everything could be about the garden. Paths wend through the branches of fallen beech and little ferns have germinated among the moss. Over the years of neglect, many large trees had tumbled and he has worked with them rather than wholly clearing the site. For the first few years, Dr Armstrong picked his way across the site, about 20 acres, removing old plastic bags, furlongs of agricultural string,10ft-high thickets of bramble and the invasive Rhododendron ponticum. The garden has good, fertile soil, with a strong stream running down the foot of the valley, it faces south and enjoys all the good things that make Cornish gardens so special - shelter (thank you, Seymour), warm winters, hot summers and lots of variety. The Hot Dry Garden, with Cycas revoluta, bananas and Xanthorrhoea glauca, the grass tree, with yellow stonecrop, Sedum kamtschaticum, on the ground. He already had a decent-sized plot in nearby Penzance, but this was a different scale - somewhere he could make a garden for the next millennium, as well as indulge his enthusiasm for both art and horticulture. The hill is now home to a remarkable garden surrounding an extraordinary collection of sculpture, created over the past 25 years by Neil Armstrong - plantsman, curator, gardener and local GP and his wife, Jane Martin.ĭr Armstrong had always been a keen gardener, but, being the sort of chap who is overflowing with energy and vision, he jumped straight in with both feet when he was given the opportunity to buy the land at Tremenheere. Seymour was, incidentally, the first Inspector of Schools, as well as the Inspector of Mines and used to travel back and forth from Cornwall in a yellow chariot - which must have been extremely uncomfortable. thomsonii Eucomis comosa ‘Sparkling Burgundy’. Below, from left: Echeveria agavoides ‘Red Edge’ Kniphofia thomsonii var. The last of the line, Seymour Tremenheere, did every succeeding generation a huge favour by planting the stately broadleaf trees (beech, oak, sweet chestnut and holly) that give stature to the site.Ībove, from left: Watsonia Kniphofia ‘Bees’ Lemon’ Agave americana. For 600 years, the land was farmed by the De Tremenheere family. Once upon a time, Tremenheere was the hill that provided the monks with wine and vegetables. They still live on part of the island, although most of it is run by the National Trust. After the monks were turfed out during the Dissolution of the monasteries, it was seized by Cornish rebels, sold by Elizabeth I to Robert Cecil and finally, in 1647, taken over by the St Aubyn family.
Big timber brilliance full#
From there, you can stand with the wind ruffling your hair (and, if you want to go full Poldark, flapping your coat tails) looking down onto the little village of Marazion, the English Channel and the sun-kissed walls of St Michael’s Mount, a tiny island with a colourful history. One of the best views in England can be yours if you climb to the top of the hill at Tremenheere. Country Life's Top 100 architects, builders, designers and gardenersĬreated over 25 years, Tremenheere's 20-acre hillside garden brilliantly succeeds in its makers’ aim of providing a haven far away from cares and worry, discovers James Alexander-Sinclair.
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