Garden sketching

Taking inspiration from a Cornish garden

Hello dear readers,

Last week I visited a beautiful garden here in Cornwall. The garden of Trewidden, situated in the heart of west Cornwall, Penzance, it forms part of the Bolitho estate and borders Trewidden manor house.

We had arranged with a couple of friends to meet there as neither myself or Tony had been. After a bite to eat in the lawn cafe we paid the entrance fee and took a walk around. 

What can I say the gardens were delightful.

Tony and my friend identifying the plants on the Seek app

Meandering footpaths weave their way to different parts and you will find ponds dotted here and there together with reminders of the industrial tin mining heritage of the site.

Each part of the garden is intimate and varied, whether it’s the newly restored walled garden with colourful flower borders, the rock garden with a mini waterfall and cosy seat, the Tree Fern Dell which is said to be the finest collection of tree Ferns in the northern hemisphere or the pond garden with the Whale’s Tail and water lilies. The garden is also home to one of England’s best collections of Magnolias and Rhododendrons – as well as a collection of over 300 Camellias.

The branches of the Metasequoia

I also loved seeing the variety of unusual trees, particularly the Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, a living fossil, a species that was thought to be extinct until a single specimen was found in 1941 in china.

The tumble down Greenhouse

I had taken my sketchbook with the intention of sketching and so whilst Tony and friends returned to the cafe for a cup of tea I set to work capturing some of the garden on paper.

Watch the video below for a full sketchbook tour and sketch-a-long.