Introducing Spring Worldwide

Spring is one of the most exciting times to visit a garden. In Cornwall, it’s when magnolias, camellias and rhododendrons begin to bloom, woodland floors fill with flowers, and the landscape starts to shift into colour.

But around the world, spring looks different. In some places it arrives with rain, in others, with heat or light, all over the world it is an important part of the horticultural cycle.

Spring Worldwide is a new series inviting you to explore the Great Gardens of Cornwall alongside some of the most remarkable gardens across the globe. Throughout the season, we’ll pair Cornish gardens with their international counterparts — from Europe to Africa, Asia to South America — revealing how spring unfolds in different landscapes, climates and cultures.

There’s a reason Cornwall’s gardens feel different. A mild maritime climate, shaped by the Atlantic, creates ideal growing conditions for plants from across the world.

Over generations, this has allowed Cornish gardens to develop rich, diverse collections from magnolias and camellias to exotic and subtropical species you might not expect to find in the UK.

The Great Gardens of Cornwall are not only iconic places to visit, they are part of a much bigger global story of horticulture, exploration and design. Spring Worldwide brings that story to life.

A New Way to Explore Gardens

Each Spring Worldwide feature pairs one Cornish garden with a garden elsewhere in the world.

Some share similarities in climate, planting or landscape, and others offer striking contrasts.

You might discover:

💚 A Cornish woodland garden alongside a European arboretum

🌿 A sheltered valley compared with a South African landscape

🍃 A subtropical garden linked with a hillside garden in Madeira

Through these pairings, you’ll see how different places respond to the same season and what makes each one unique.

Every story focuses on what you can actually experience in a garden in spring – the colours that define the season, the plants coming into fragrant flower, and how the light, weather and landscape shape garden experiences.

Whether it’s bluebells under Cornish trees or blossom in a city garden overseas, each pairing reveals a different side of spring.

A Global Perspective, Starting in Cornwall

Spring Worldwide is your invitation to see gardens differently. You can follow the series, visit the gardens in person, and experience Cornwall’s spring as it unfolds, whilst also seeing how it connects to the wider world.

Because Cornwall’s Great Gardens aren’t just part of a local story, they’re part of something much bigger.