Island Haven Tresco - A English Garden Blending Tropics within the British Isles
Tresco Abbey Garden: A Haven for Exotic Plants and Subtropical Beauty
Tresco Abbey Garden, located on the scenic Tresco Island in the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of south-west Cornwall, is a historic and remarkable garden that has become renowned for its unique collection of exotic plants from various Mediterranean climate zones around the world.
Established in 1834 by Augustus Smith, a gentleman from Hertfordshire, the garden was built around the ruins of a Benedictine abbey. The garden's location on the sheltered southern end of Tresco Island provides a mild climate, with early spring, late autumn, and nearly absent winter, making it a perfect environment for lush and exotic vegetation.
Visitors to Tresco Abbey Garden can stroll through various sheltered glades filled with tree ferns, sunny terraces, and enjoy ocean views amidst a broad array of scents, sights, and sounds. The garden is home to a variety of exotic plants such as the red-flowering Eucalyptus ficifolia, Norfolk Island pine, New Zealand Christmas tree, banksias, palms, abutilons, 6ft-tall tree dandelions from the Canaries, and more.
The garden's layout consists of three walkways running east to west along a top, middle, and lower terrace with paths leading up and down between them and a series of steps. A notable feature is the statue of Neptune at the top of the garden.
Tresco Abbey Garden has faced two major disasters: the snow storm of 1987 and a 127-mile-an-hour hurricane in 1990. However, the horticultural world provided replacements for lost specimens, and over 10,000 new trees have been planted since the hurricane, creating a new shelterbelt.
The garden is part of a larger cultural heritage landscape and is managed by Adam Dorrien-Smith, representing the sixth generation of the family. Spare seedlings are carefully collected and raised by the garden propagator Emma Lainchbury. The garden features a variety of exotic and rare species, such as Gladiolus byzantinus, Echium, and Senecio glastifolius.
In summary, Tresco Abbey Garden's history is deeply tied to the Benedictine abbey ruins and its 19th-century development under Augustus Smith. Its notable features include a rare subtropical climate that supports a rich diversity of exotic plants and its striking location offering beautiful vistas of the sea. The garden is not just a testament to the beauty of nature but also a symbol of resilience and the power of horticulture to bring life and colour to even the most remote corners of the world.
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