The Carbis Bay Hotel. Luxury hotel near St.Ives, Cornwall

Cornwall Gardens Holiday

Enjoy a relaxing luxury holiday at the award winning Carbis Bay Hotel, while visiting some of Cornwalls most enchanting gardens with experienced Garden's host Martin G Catford, M.I.Hart.,F.I.L.A.M.,D.H.W.(Hons).

The Garden: The story of modern Trewithen begins with is purchase by Philip Hawkins in 1715. From 1738 onwards many of the fine trees were initially planted to form the basis of the garden. A plan of the gardens was known to exist by 1757, and by the 1800's a substantial windbreak of trees had grown up to form woods to the south and south-west of the house.

The name 'Trewithen' is Cornish for: "The Wood in the Spinney", and by 1904 this was an apt name. Curiously enough, the time had arrived to take an axe to the woods to clear areas for planting more colourful shrubs which first appeared in 1905 when 100 hybrids of Rhododendron arboretum arrived.

During World War 1, around 300 beach trees were felled by government order, and the spaces left behind enabled George Johnson to mark out and create the great glade which stretches southwards from the front of the house.

Many plant hunters contributed plants towards the creation of the gardens, notably George Forrest who contributed Camellia saluensis which he crossed with C. Japonica to produce the well-known C. X Williamsii group. Another familiar plant raised at Trewithen is Caenothus 'Trewithen Blue' - a large leaved but slightly tender variety for areas outside of Cornwall.

One of the most memorable Rhododendrons in the garden is a clump of R. Augustinii with its dainty lavender-coloured canopy of blossoms under which you can walk. Nearby, look out for an unusual yellow flowering shrub called Azara dentate, or A. lanceolata or A. Microphylla in the woodland garden beforehand.

If you have the opportunity to visit the garden (which is often closed for family use in the spring) you will find several wall climbing plants such as Clematis armandii, and Clianthus punecius ("Lobster Claw") - all in flower. Outside the walled garden, notice the huge Pieris - remarkably some 45ft tall. Closeby you may sense a pleasant perfume in the air - look up to see huge specimens of Myrtis luma ("Chilean Myrtle") in full creamy yellow bloom.

Walk down the main boardwalk lawn from the back of the house and enjoy many colourful foliaged shrubs and trees such as: Acer X psudoplatanus 'Brillantissima', Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea', and Embothrium coccinium ("Chilean Fire Bush") towering majestically 60ft above your head on the right hand side.

At the end of the woodland walk, pause a while to enjoy the new Magnolia Fountain set in the raised circular pool in the beachwood. It was created by Tom Leaper (who also created the now famous Agave sculpture in Tresco) in 1998. Here the damaging Fastnet storm of 1979 cut a swathe through the old beach trees planted over 150 years earlier, laying open to the light a new area of the garden. During 1997, the Sculptor, Tom Leaper was invited to become a frequent visitor to Trewithen to familiarize himself with the plants and flowers of the garden, and it was his visits that inspired the sculpture of the fountain.