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| Tremenheere has fantastic views over Mounts Bay and St Michael's Mount |
With views like this over St Michael's Mount (above); a hillside plot above Mounts Bay; and a tract of land that includes hills, streams and thick woodland areas, Tremenheere in Cornwall is about as close as you'll get to a blank canvas on which to paint a visionary garden. The artist behind the scenes is local doctor Neil Armstrong, who purchased 11 acres here in 1997, and is now creating a masterpiece that promises to be a great British green space of the future. This garden is already unique because of its position and unusual climate - but give it another half century as the plants mature - and you'll have a genuine Garden of Eden.
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| Neil Armstrong shares William Robinson's vision that gardens should be "wild" |
Tremenheere (pronounced Tre-men-ear) is about two miles from Penzance and nestles between the villages of Gulval and Ludgvan. You won't find a great Cornish mansion at the heart of this garden, because there's no house here at all, just a wonderful landscape. And it was this that attracted owner, Neil Armstrong, to this unusual hillside plot. He is a great admirer of Victorian garden designer and writer, William Robinson, who lived at Gravetye Manor in Sussex. Both share the vision that gardens should be "wild", and Armstrong believes that "form and foliage should be king"; with "drama and poise arising from line and foliage alone".
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| There's glorious greenery everywhere at Tremenheere |
The site is perfect - the climate is sub-tropical and the structure of the land provides good protection from the sea winds - and thanks to Armstrong's planning, you'll encounter many unusual plants here including cacti, agaves, palms and striking architectural plants - perfect for the contours of the plot. When I first visited this garden in 2010 I didn't get the chance to meet the owner, but on my return last week, I was lucky enough to have a private tour. He's certainly on the right track with this garden and there's something about Tremenheere that spells serenity, even though it's still a masterpiece in the making. He has already installed several unique sculptures on site - works by British sculptor, David Nash and Japanese artist, Kishio Suga - although in reality, the main artist here is the owner.
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There are just two buildings here - the oval skyscaper building (right), designed by James Turrell, and originally commissioned for viewing the solar eclipse in 1999, with its fantastic hilltop position, and the new cafe and office building at the entrance to the garden. Both have been conceived to blend in with the remarkable landscape.
Don't go to Tremenheere and expect to find manicured borders or ideas for your plot at home - this is a garden where you have to think for yourself - it's about walking unfettered in a magnificent landscape, absorbing the atmosphere and being at one with the environment. Just three years after my first visit, this garden is already showing signs of change and Neil now has plans to extend the garden further at the rear and create a prairie planting scheme for next season.
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Don't go to Tremenheere and expect to find manicured borders or ideas for your plot at home - this is a garden where you have to think for yourself - it's about walking unfettered in a magnificent landscape, absorbing the atmosphere and being at one with the environment. Just three years after my first visit, this garden is already showing signs of change and Neil now has plans to extend the garden further at the rear and create a prairie planting scheme for next season.
Tremenheere is open daily throughout the summer season, from the end of March through to the beginning of November. Winter hours are more restricted, but check the garden website for full details. Indeed, part of its charm for me when I first visited in 2010 was that it was so rarely accessible to outsiders. But secrets such as this should be shared and I'm glad this garden is now firmly on the map for visitors.
For more garden visit ideas click here.
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| David Nash sculpture at Tremenheere |