We’re in New Zealand and it’s raining. Large drops of water force their way through a thick canopy of ferns, and the cool, damp, lush atmosphere feels hauntingly familiar. As the rain becomes more insistent, we shelter in a small wooden whare and wait for it to pass. It feels like a typical Kiwi bush walk but there’s a twist to this story – you see, we’re not really in New Zealand at all. Here, in the picturesque county of Cornwall on England’s South West Coast, we’re part of a real-life Sleeping Beauty fairytale.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan, near St Austell, were rediscovered in 1990, virtually strangled by brambles and ivy after 75 years of neglect. The estate had been abandoned when its wealthy owners suffered a change of fortune early last century and most of the estate gardeners went off to fight World War I, never to return.
The house was used as a wartime convalescence hospital, then eventually divided into flats and sold. Meanwhile, its magnificent gardens slumbered quietly beneath the burgeoning overgrowth. In the course of Heligan’s resurrection, huge areas have been painstakingly uncovered and restored by a dedicated team of experts but the Kiwi connection is a mysterious one.
This lovely green glade was created in the second half of the 19th century, using tree ferns from New Zealand. It’s clear that someone on the gardening staff during Queen Victoria’s time was very au fait with our native flora but, sadly, little more is known about the original inspiration for the New Zealand area itself. Nevertheless, it’s a charming slice of Godzone far from home.
A short walk away from “New Zealand” is an enchanting Italian garden, complete with jasmine, olive trees and a tinkling fountain, but my husband is intrigued by the melon and pineapple pits. He had no idea such exotic fruit could be grown in England’s chilly climes but apparently their cultivation was popular among wealthy landowners in the 19th century.
They – or, more accurately, their gardeners – cMaxed pineapples to life undercover, using manure and fertiliser to create a suitably humid atmosphere. Estates would compete with each other to grow the biggest, best fruit and when the pits were brought back to life in the mid-1990s, Heligan’s proud gardeners presented their very first pineapple to the Queen to mark her 50th wedding anniversary in 1997.
After exploring the kitchen gardens, crystal grotto, beehives and wishing well, we tuck into a traditional Devonshire tea of scones, jam and clotted cream at the Lost Gardens caf
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