Lost Gardens of Heligan

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"The Jungle"

The Lost Gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey in Cornwall, are one of the most popular botanical gardens in the UK. Originally the gardens were part of the estate owned by the Cornish Tremayne family. After the First World War, which led to the deaths of 16 out of the 22 gardeners, the gardens fell into a state of neglect until Tim Smit and a group of fellow enthusiasts decided to restore the garden to its former glory. The restoration, which was the subject of a six part Channel 4 television series in 1996, proved to be an outstanding success, not only revitalising the gardens but also the local economy around Heligan by providing employment.

The gardens now boast a fabulous collection of aged and colossal rhododendrons and camellias, a series of lakes fed by a ram pump over a century in age, highly productive flower and vegetable gardens, an Italian garden, and a stunning wild area filled with primaeval-looking sub-tropical tree ferns called "The Jungle". The gardens also have Europe's only remaining Pineapple Pit, warmed by rotting manure, and two figures made from rocks and plants known as the Mud Maid and the Giant's Head.

The style of the gardens is typical of the nineteenth century Gardenesque style, with areas of different character and in different design styles.

1 Views of Heligan
2 Literature
3 Media
4 External links

[edit] Views of Heligan

Grove of young trees	Charcoal kiln	Susan Hill's sculpture The Giant's Head	Susan Hill's sculpture The Mud Maid
Oaks in the Lost Valley	Meadow in Heligan	Rhododendron hedge in The Jungle	The Jungle
The Jungle	Wisteria gate	A greenhouse	Ducklings near the pond
Large rhododendron tree, Flora's Green, Northern Gardens	The Ravine garden, part of the Northern Gardens	The Italian garden, part of the Northern Gardens

[edit] Literature

Heligan Manor Gardens Project: A Brief history and guide to Heligan. Heligan 1994.
Ivor J. Herring: 400 years of Tremaynes at Heligan. St Austell 1999: Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. ISBN 0-902660-26-8
Colin Howlett: Heligan wild: a year of nature in the lost gardens. London 1999: Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-06751-9
Tom Petherick: Heligan: a portrait of the lost gardens. London 2004: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-84344-3
Philip McMillan Browse: Heligan: fruit, flowers and herbs. Penzance 2005: Alison Hodge. ISBN 0-906720-40-0
Tim Smit: The Lost Gardens of Heligan. London 1999: Orion.
Tim Smit: The Heligan vegetable Bible, London 2002: Cassell Illustrated. ISBN 1-84403-003-2

[edit] Media

Free Range Television (Ed.): Heligan. Past, Present & Future. A Tenth Anniversary Celebration. Heligan 2001. (DVD)
Vivianne Howard (director), Barbara Flynn (narrator): The lost gardens of Heligan: an exquisite garden emerging like "Sleeping Beauty" from its seventy year sleep, London 1997: Channel 4 Video. (VHS cassette) ASIN B00004CTZH
The Return To The Lost Gardens Of Heligan - The Myths And Discoveries Michael Hutchinson (director) Channel 4 Video (VHS cassette) ASIN B00004CY3I