Yesterday, I spent the morning exploring an incredible garden in Cornwall, UK, called The Lost Gardens of Heligan.
For over 400 years, the Tremayne family has owned the estate. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the gardens and grounds were carefully laid out and planted with exotic and native species. There was a large kitchen garden, too, where they even grew pineapples in specially designed glasshouses heated with manure. It was a thriving estate and community.
Then came WWI. At least thirteen young gardeners went off to war. Four came home. None returned to farm the land or tend the gardens. The owner moved away.
Trees had been felled to provide wood for the war, and the mansion was used as a hospital. In the 1970s, the house and immediate grounds were sold off. The remaining land was ignored, left to grow wild, and forgotten.
Then, in 1990, John Willis, a Tremayne descendant, wondering what to do with the land he’d inherited, asked his archaeologist friend, Tim Smit, to give him some advice. Wandering the overgrown grounds, they came upon a rotting building — a thunderbox room (gardener’s toilet – a two-seater outhouse with storage and bunk space). Written in pencil on the wall were the signatures of the gardeners. It was dated August 1914. In memory of these brave men, Willis and Smit vowed to restore the gardens. However, unable to get funding, all looked hopeless until volunteers and private donors began to show up, moved by the story and legacy of a grand vision and the local men who once brought it to life.
Today, it is Europe’s largest garden restoration project and employs over 20 gardeners and estate workers.
Among the 200 acres, you’ll find woodlands and a jungle. There’s a camellia and rhododendron garden with over 200 species, one dating back to 1792, with most from the 1800s. All the produce, herbs, and flowers grown in their kitchen garden (over 600 varieties) are used in their onsite restaurants and shop. There’s a farm with rare and heritage breeds of livestock and poultry. And it’s home to native species like deer, foxes, pheasant, and owls. They practice regenerative farming to bring the land back to the health it once was while partnering with other groups around the UK, using it as a teaching and learning facility to create a healthy future for us all.
Why am I sharing this with you today?
Firstly, to say that if you’re ever in Cornwall, be sure to visit The Lost Gardens of Heligan.
Secondly, to remind you that no matter how long it’s been since you let your dream lay dormant, it’s still there and worthy of resurrecting. Shine a little love on it. Prune away any resentment and judgement, and let the best of it grow and thrive.
A mature garden, when tended to, is much more spectacular than a newly planted forest.
It’s never too late to follow your heart. Because that’s where the seeds of your desires are planted and from where you will fully bloom.
It’s your time. And it’s your turn.
photo: Giant’s Head at The Lost Gardens of Heligan,
photo credit: C.Rathbun, all rights reserved
Connecting with my heart reunited me with my Soul’s voice. What began as brief Love Notes From Your Soul gradually became longer and more profound. Love letters, you might say. Each message offers a higher perspective and helps me let go of fears and limiting beliefs to create a life beyond what I once dreamed possible. Now I want to share this wisdom with you so you, too, can shift from worry, doubt, and regret and feel the freedom and joy of a heart-led, soul-aligned life. To hear/read a few recent messages from The Soul Collective, a gift from my Soul (and yours), click here.
