Trelissick Garden

Trelissick is a house and garden near Truro in Cornwall, owned by the National Trust. It stands on high ground above the Carrick Roads estuary, with views across the wide waterway. The mild Cornish climate, warmed by the Gulf Stream, lets subtropical plants grow outdoors all year. The garden is not set in a valley like nearby Trebah or Glendurgan but spreads like a landscaped park. A narrow road cuts the garden in two, joined by a small wooden bridge near the King Harry Ferry. The house began as a farm recorded in 1275 and became a gentleman’s seat around 1750. Humphry Davy’s grandfather designed it, and Thomas Daniell remodelled it in the 1820s before later extensions in the 19th century. The Daniells made their fortune in Cornish copper mining and developed the grounds. After 1955 the Copeland family donated the estate to the National Trust, keeping a home there until recent years. The garden’s rare shrubs and flowering trees were planted by the Copelands, who also supplied blooms to the Spode china factory as models for painted designs. Visitors walk through parkland and woodland with wide views over the Fal estuary. The garden holds National Plant Collections of photinias and azaras, and a notable Japanese cedar stands on the central lawn. Rhododendrons burst into colour each late spring, joined by camellias, hydrangeas and flowering cherries. The original kitchen garden, called the Parsley Garden, grows herbs at the entrance. A Victorian Gothic water tower bears squirrel carvings recalling the family crest, while the stable block’s weathervane shows a horse’s head.