A Cornish Garden

Last week we were away on holiday in Cornwall. One of the places we stayed was the Longcross Hotel which we selected partly because of its extensive gardens. It is located on the North coast of Cornwall and claims to be one of the windiest sites in the UK (not too sure they have been to the Pennines!). However, Longcross has the additional challenge of salty air to contend with, so many of the plants were originally chosen because of their salt tolerance, to quote the web site, the hotel gardens receive one hundredweight of salt per acre per year. Although not all the specimens are halophytes it was most interesting to see the variety of plants that had been used.

bamboo

conservatory and outside decking

vegetable garden

The bamboo was a recurrent theme, along with several impressive water features. The gardens could be viewed from the conservatory dining room and the veg patch was clearly well used by the kitchens. But the feature that gave me most to think about was the way the planting allowed for wind breaks and mini shelter belts. In turn, these allowed for plenty of little nooks and crannies which gives a lovely sense of mystery, prompting the need to explore around the next corner. Perhaps these are ideas that I can borrow?

Overall, we had a lovely few days there and were made to feel most welcome. Well worth a visit or better still a mini break.