Trevarno Gardens are at the centre of the Trevarno estate near Penzance, Cornwall. 70 acres of gardens and grounds featuring one of Cornwall's largest and most diverse plant collections set within magnificent formal, informal and woodland areas.
The gardens include many specimen shrubs and trees, a bluebell valley, ornamental lake with picturesque Victorian Boathouse and formal cascade, Serpentine Yew Tunnel, Sunken Italian Garden, Bamboo collection, extensive Pinetum, Rockery and Grotto, the Great Lawn and Summer Terrace and many other interesting features.
National Museum of Gardening - A celebration of Britain's great gardening heritage featuring the Country's largest and most comprehensive collection of gardening antiques, memorabilia and ephemera, displayed in ten themed areas.
Trevarno can be traced back to at least 1245 and has been owned by a succession of notable families over the centuries. For a short period between 1780 and 1785 the estate was owned by William Oliver, father of Dr Oliver, of Bath Oliver Biscuit fame. In 1995 Trevarno was put up for sale for the first time in 120 years
The new owners were looking for a country house with a few acres to use as company headquarters. But acquired some 1,000 acres of an estate in a run down condition. They devised a plan to restore the gardens.
Work started during the summer of 1996 to provide the basic infrastructure to open the gardens to visitors. During 1997 they concentrated on the main gardens and grounds. A great deal of basic clearance work was necessary to remove dangerous or fallen trees. The lake was partially drained so that several hundred tonnes of silt below the cascade could be removed.
The design and construction of the fountain garden conservatory was started for completion by the end of 1997. By early 1998 they new planting in the conservatory and a few acres of the garden in time for the formal opening in March 1998.
Gardening Museum. During 1998 they established a museum to display part of a collection in the original carriage house. Because the interest and support for this project has been overwhelming, in 1999 established Britain’s first National Museum of Gardening in a new and much larger purpose designed building. This opened at Easter 2001 and was the culmination of 6years planning and research. The museum has been arranged into 10 themed areas and includes many items of interest.