Contemplating the gardens

When visiting us at The Story of Emily, we invite you to imagine that you are stepping back into another time. In Cornwall, life moved at a slightly slower pace, than in the cities, during the Victorian era.

Stroll through the ornamental and kitchen gardens on your way to the Rectory. Discover the ha-ha wall in the paddock and the surrounding Cornish hedge.

Before mechanical lawn mowers, a common way to keep large areas of grass trimmed was to allow livestock, usually sheep, to graze the grass. A ha-ha (sunken wall) prevented grazing animals from gaining access to the gardens adjoining the house, without spoiling the view.

Two Sycamore trees (Acer pseudoplatanus) have been planted on the wall of the ha-ha. They are about 150 years old and date from the time when the Hobhouse family lived here. Both are in a round, stonewall enclosure. This is one of the few examples in the garden showing a layer of the parkland landscaping fashion that was popular at the time.

The largest tree on the property is a Turkey oak (Quercus cerris) which graces the lower paddock, near the pond. It is between 150 to 200 years old, with long branches that sweep to the ground. Although not native, these trees were brought to England in the 1700s.

In spring the meadow around its base is a yellow skirt of buttercup-yellow Winter Aconite flowers (Eranthus hyemalis). It would almost certainly have been planted by the Hobhouse family.

At the back of the Rectory there is a beautiful Copper Beech tree (Fagus sylvatica f.purpurea) which was also is likely to have been planted by the family.

To the front there is a large, historic Cornish Red rhododendron (Rhododendron ‘Cornish Red’), very likely to have been in the original garden. These are some of the tallest woodland Rhododendrons, reaching around 12m and higher and bearing large trusses of pinkish-purple flowers. There are many versions of this hybrid in historic gardens across Cornwall.

This hybrid, made between 150-200 years ago, is thought to be a cross between R. arboreum and R. ponticum made at Kingston-upon-Thames, later the Veitch nursery (a very famous Victorian nursery that would eventually fund plant hunting expeditions) or the same cross made at Randall's nursery, St Austell, Cornwall.

Surrounding the paddock is a Cornish hedge restored to its former beauty. During the Neolithic Age, 4,000–6,000 years ago, the first of these hedges enclosed land for cereal crops. Some date from the Bronze and Iron Ages, 2,000–4,000 years ago. This style of stone and hedge construction occurs in Celtic areas of southwest Wales, Cornwall and in Brittany, France.

A kitchen garden was typical in Victorian times to provide food for the house. Ours is where it originally was, but larger. The Hobhouse children each had a little plot so that they could plant their own vegetables, which we have replicated.

Our visitor attraction hosts are now planting vegetables in these plots.

The planting is true to how the Victorians would have had it and the family would have enjoyed these: climbing beans ‘Scarlet Emperor’; broad beans ‘Burnyards Exhibition’; spring cabbage ‘Greyhound’; sprouts ‘Long Island’; purple sprouting ‘Purple Early’; white sprouting ‘White Eye’; radish ‘Long Scarlet’; peas ‘Meteor’; Squash ‘Turk’s Turban’, beetroots, leeks, carrots, potatoes and artichokes.

Behind the Rectory there is a tranquil contemplation garden, quite space in the shade of a large Sycamore and grand old magnolia. Paths weave between stone-edged beds planted with Lady’s Mantle with their pretty lime green flowers in summer and leaves that hold water drops like diamonds. The beddings are planted with Lily of the Valley, and Lamb’s Ear with purple and pink flower spikes in summer.

Sit on the bench and enjoy the smell of the yellow honeysuckle azalea, white geranium, dark purple Irises, lavender and catmint (Nepeta) with their purple summer flowers and herbal scent when you brush against them.

Beyond the contemplation garden is a Victorian Glasshouse to grow frost tender plants. It was manufactured by Foster and Pearson Ltd, founded in 1841. Although the family did not have a glasshouse, it would very likely have been made by this company, if they did. All the door handles and metal work are as they would have been in the Victorian period.

While walking in the gardens or sitting on a bench, just be aware of the many piskies: they are mischievous little creatures. They may just lead you astray.

Maybe they are in the kitchen garden nibbling on the pumpkins?