The Garden

Clematis "Last Dance"

The Past

The garden at Roseland house has suffered mixed fortunes over the years. In the 1860's it was, like the house victorianised, but by the end of WW2 there was little left, the whole area having been "dug for victory". Following the war a succession of owners and tenants failed to make much impact, land was sold off and when we arrived in 1983 the garden was empty of plants, featureless and without shelter. Gardening did not begin straight away but the hedges, trees and shrubs planted in the early days now provide the shelter without which nothing much will grow in Cornwall. Some pictures from 1984 compared to 2005

The garden now

The most frequently heard comment from visitors to the garden is surprise! when you come in from the village you enter a hidden garden, totally unexpected and full of surprises! once inside its hard to imagine you are in the centre of a busy village, planting is heavy and reflects our love of plants. Sturdy Plants suitable for providing shelter in a garden are frequently not that exciting, and it was not long before our passion for climbing plants of all kinds took hold - We could grow them up everything else! The garden contains many climbers including a great many old Rambling roses and Clematis (the two often mix well together - we have a large selection of Clematis viticella hybrids in the garden and now hold one of the NCCPG's National Collections of Clematis viticella cvs.). Our other National Collection Lapageria rosea is housed in a Greenhouse and tunnel within the nursery. Many of the other climbers like Trachelospermum, Jasmine and Lonicera are strongly scented. A Victorian conservatory provides shelter for tender climbers (and us!) and houses a wide range of scented leafed Pelargoniums. Even our favorite climbers have to compete for space with the many other unusual plants we are lucky enough to be able to grow. The top part of the garden is still orchard with some trees dating back to the 1800's. Some old varieties are now identified, others remain a mystery.  Once home to our free range hens this part of the garden is still left fairly wild.
See a recent project?
Although the garden is on a slope a route around can be taken which avoids all the steps and the Gravel paths have been largely replaced with brick. We estimate 85% of the garden, the loo and the teas all to be accessible to Wheel chair users, but due to the slope would recommend either an able bodied pusher or a power assisted chair. We are happy to give more detailed info as required and can also allow parking onsite by prior arrangement.

Here you can see pictures of the Garden by month