About

Our Story

Welcome to the Great Gardens of Cornwall

In the early nineteenth-century, the creative genius of Cornish garden owners coupled with their hunger and passion for exotica, led them to sponsor many great Victorian plant-hunting expeditions. The seeds and plants that they brought back came from all over the World and helped create some truly magnificent examples of living theatre, the Great Gardens of Cornwall.

From the formal to the informal, woodland retreats to historic rolling-parkland, our gardens are all very different and all very unique. We have modern gardens; ancient gardens; gardens with Mediterranean, sub-tropical or South African themes, all housing a stunningly diverse collection of plants and sculptures from around the World. Marvel at Chinese collections over 100 years old as they sit side-by-side with plants only ever found growing in the mild climates here in Cornwall. With such magnificent diversity, there truly is something for everyone.

Choosing the Gardens

What Makes a Garden Truly Great?

All of our gardens share three things in common.

Firstly, they represent excellence in their own inimitable way. That is why we market them together.

Secondly, all our gardens have excellent visitor facilities including catering, shops, car parking, disabled facilities and, of course, toilets.

Thirdly, the members of our Great Gardens all work harmoniously together, in friendly co-operation, to ensure that all visitors to Cornwall have an exceptional gardening holiday, no matter of the season in which they visit.
Cornwall holds a prodigious place in the plant hunting history books and is a haven for amateur and professional gardeners alike.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

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Follow us on Facebook

Follow the Great Gardens of Cornwall on Facebook for all the latest news, events, updates from each of our gardens.

We will also be taking our followers on journeys throughout the history of each garden, with fascinating facts and stories!