With summer on its way and Easter just around the corner, the National Garden Scheme (NGS) in Cornwall has some very special gardens open for charity across the county this April.
On the Cornwall-Devon border, Ince Castle in Saltash will once again be opening the doors to their romantic and historic garden this month, exclusively on Sunday 13 April. In North Cornwall, The Barn House near Bude will be welcoming visitors on the 12 and 13 April, combining dramatic cliffs with the serenity of a sheltered and colourful garden abundant with wildlife.
The spectacular Pencarrow House and Gardens in Washaway, Bodmin will be open for the NGS on Wednesday 16 April. With fifty acres of tranquil, family-owned Grade II listed gardens, Pencarrow has a huge variety of plants and flowers as well as a lake, Iron Age fort, and children’s play area.
Moving into central Cornwall, Ladock House is a beautiful Georgian Rectory with four acres of lawns and vast woodland glades open on Sunday 25. Towards the coast, on the St Clement estuary, Riverside Cottage has been owned by the same family for over 100 years and comes complete with a Victorian orchard and nut walk – open on the 13 and 25 April. Also by the sea, Polgwynne garden in Feock will open the gates to its walled gardens, terraced lawns and the largest female Ginkgo biloba in Britain, on Sunday 27 April.
Down in West Cornwall, Ethneva Cottage in Constantine is a ‘plantaholics’ paradise with exotic trees, a variety of camellias and rhododendrons as well a large pond and semi-wild bog. It will be open to visitors on the 27 April and 11 May, or by appointment. Carminowe Valley is a unique and abundant garden combining native oak woodland, babbling brooks and wild flower meadows with breath-taking views towards Loepool.
Over in the hills west of Penzance, Trewidden Garden – open on 13 April – is a historic Victorian garden that’s offers a backdrop of colour amongst the water features, specimen trees and artefacts of Cornwall’s tin industry.
“With the Easter holidays coming up, visiting a local garden can be a great family day out that allows children to enjoy the wonders of nature,” said Bryan Coode, chairman of the National Garden Scheme in Cornwall. “We have a really diverse array of gardens open this month so I urge everyone to get outside and help us raise some money for charity”.
For more information about NGS open gardens in Cornwall visit, http://www.ngs.org.uk/gardens/gardens-by-county/visit-cornwall-gardens.aspx
Ends 28 March 2014
Photo: Ince Castle, Saltash. Credit Cassie Corby.