A Volunteer’s View

By Helen Michael-Trust.
Abridged 2007

Far from the madding crowd …


Volunteering at Tregothnan Botanic Garden is not just about sowing seeds in the potting shed or wrestling brambles, it’s much more varied than that – though I do enjoy both tasks. Becoming part of the team on a given day is great fun and interesting. The gardeners are very helpful and always happy to explain how things should be done. I’m keen to learn all the plant names too and there’s always someone around to tell me.


On my first day the Head Gardener, took me on a tour of the extensive gardens to show me some of the areas I might like to work in. I was overwhelmed by the height of some of the trees and the diversity of species, as well as the profusion of stunningly coloured azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias. Tregothnan’s careful blend of exuberance and grandeur balance perfectly. As we crossed the bowling green, where the marquee is erected on special occasions, the Head Gardener, zoomed towards us on a mountain bike – a useful option to get around the many paths and avenues quickly. The best bikes go early, we find cycling a great way to get know the garden.


The team are always very encouraging and eager that I enjoy time at Tregothnan. At lunchtime I’m honoured to join the team in the bothy – their den amongst the tools – where I tuck into the delicious pasty cooked especially for me.


The great landscape gardener Humphrey Repton remodelled the garden in the early nineteenth century. Since then successive members of the Boscawen family have added new plantings and ideas. Following the tradition today there are always new projects going on. Last week we began creating a camellia maze. It’s exciting because it is probably the first one in Britain. The idea came from Jonathon after one of his globe-trotting expeditions and his enthusiasm is infectious.




All parts of the garden are a pleasure to work in and so different. I might, for example, be stripping ivy from the Trachycarpus fortunei (tree palms) – there’s a whole avenue of them – planting flowers in the banks for the three beautiful ponds, weeding in the hot houses or pruning hydrangeas near the Home Farm. You might also find me amongst the camellias cutting blooms for floral displays, or as on my second week, helping with the Tregothnan display at a prestigious flower show. One afternoon I planted seventy or more foot-high Scots pines behind Myrtle Avenue. There was also the wild, rainy day spent clearing the rampant ramsons (Allium ursinum) from the vast expanse of bluebells in Lime Tree Avenue. This had its own magic. Through the vista, far distant beyond the blue haze, a herd of deer were silhouetted on the horizon. A vision to treasure.


What makes Tregothnan so special for me is that it is a wonderfully peaceful place to be, far away from the drone of traffic and the overwhelming presence of the countless visitors that most gardens are exposed to. Birdsong or a sharp squawk from pheasant are the only sounds to be heard in this exotic paradise – except of course for Ronnie’s lawnmower on occasion! Tools put away, I head homeward, rosy-cheeked from my exertions, to another paradise. My donkey and two flocks of Jacob sheep patiently waiting.

Volunteering at Tregothnan is an experience that is tailored to the hours you have available, please do not hesitate to request more information. If you would like to arrange a no obligation trial period before deciding if this is for you just email or call us now. garden@tregothnan.com