“It’s Cornwall in a nutshell”
Head gardener Philip Griffiths loves the plants, the views and the garden’s rugged moorland setting
Philip has been a gardener at Trengwainton in Cornwall since 2002 and head gardener for the past seven years. Along with his team of three full-time gardeners, a part-time gardener and volunteers he looks after this historic garden packed with a rich diversity of plants.
How did you come to Trengwainton? I did a National Trust apprenticeship at Antony House in east Cornwall and when that was coming to an end, Trengwainton was the first job that came up in Cornwall. I liked the fact that it was a woodland garden and that I could stay in Cornwall.
The Cornish climate is known for being mild. Do you ever get frost and snow? We get a very light grass frost from the end of December into January and February – not every morning, maybe just three mornings a week. We did have snow in my first two years here, but it only lasted about 24 hours. On one occasion it got down to about -5C (23F) in the walled gardens as they sometimes act as frost pockets. Some plants died back and bark split, but we cut them back at ground level and most of them recovered because the frost hadn’t penetrated the ground. Rainfall here is a bit more than the average – about 1.3m (51in) of rain a year. Last year was noticeably wetter and the water table was up quite high.
What are the main jobs throughout the year? There’s a lot of general maintenance – mowing and edging for instance. We probably do a bit more pruning than other places because of the temperate climate we’ve got. Take hydrangeas, for example. If you’re growing them further north then the cold holds them back, but some plants here will grow 365 days a year, so they do need more pruning.
What are the main challenges you face in your job? The fungal disease phytophthora was first discovered in the gardens in 2003 and we’ve lost a percentage of the rhododendron collection, but we’re trying to see it as a great opportunity to rejuvenate the garden. We’re not curators; gardens have to evolve so that means making some tough decisions about whether plants should stay or be replaced. So over the next few years we’ll be replanting the stream area, the walled gardens and the terraced gardens. We know the climate is getting warmer and wetter so we can start to look to temperate climates for our plants.
What are the highlights in February? Magnolia campbellii and M. campbellii mollicomata (pictured), early camellias, rhododendrons and plenty of snowdrops will all be in flower. Also look out for Rhododendron macabeanum, which was one of the plants brought back by Frank Kingdon-Ward in the 1920s: it first flowered in Britain at Trengwainton. It has lovely giant leaves and lemon flowers.
Do you have a favourite part of the garden? The terrace right at the top of the garden has fantastic views across Mount’s Bay – you can see St Michael’s Mount and the Lizard, the most southerly point in Britain. There’s rugged moorland behind and then there’s the horticultural backdrop of the gardens. It’s Cornwall in a nutshell.