A Visit to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall

Was nearby, so looked in at the Lost Gardens of Heligan. All seemed pretty much at usual. The next couple of photos are from the Sundial Garden.

I always like old brickwork, somehow it reminds me of childhood - yes, I have a good memory!

I've left the flowers behind but I always like to see the animals at Heligan. The sheep were indoors as it was haircut time, they seemed happy enough.

The goats are Golden Guernseys.

Flowers growing wild, always something special about seeing poppies, even if there is only one in the photo.

A mixture of plants.

I came across this old tree. At first I thought it looked as if a horse was looking out at the world, but then I thought there were a couple of small white owls peeking out - just a touch of pareidolia I presume.

A group of tall Echiums, often seen in Cornwall. They will look lovely when in flower. I believe they originally came from the Canary Islands.

And, just in case you need a helping hand there's one at Heligan.

This  art work 'In Nature’s Hands' is by Jasmine Fassenfelt and Rebecca Knight.  The work was put in place on the 12th June 2021, to coincide with the G7 Summit, which took place in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.

Of course I have just touched on a small part of the Lost Gardens of Heligan. There are over 200 acres to explore if you have the energy to do so. Following are a few of the flower gardens with an abundance of flowers. 

There are usually lots of dahlia, but it's a little early for them at the moment. Just the one lonely flower.

The dahlia below is from my own garden, the fist one to bloom - as yet - lots of buds though.

Back to Heligan a cosmos on its own.

There are also fruit and vegetables at Heligan, the photo is part of an archway of apples.

Nearly forgot the next photo, large poppies.

Finally a photo I created on my computer. Hope you have a happy week ahead and thanks for visiting by blog ~ Mike.

A Walk At Cornwall's Eden Project - With 27 Photos

We decided to visit Cornwall's Eden Project. We hadn't been for quite a while, what with all of the coronavirus rules and regulations. We walked our usual route and I snapped a few photos.

There were flowers of varying colours and the sky was blue.

Lots of the flowers were growing free which I like to see. A couple of poppies were trying to hide.

A few more similar photos.

There is a Pollination Trail to attract bumblebees and other insects. Below they were being tempted by lavender.

Mind you - you have to be careful that the bees remain a manageable size.

We continued walking in the direction of the two biomes.  The  Rainforest biome is the world's largest indoor rainforest. The other is the Mediterranean biome.

We are now inside the Mediterranean Biome, five photos follow.

The next photo from the Mediterranean Biome is actually from Africa! This is the CAMFED Garden.

The Campaign for female education believes that when girls are educated they can lift their communities out of poverty.

It supports girls in rural Africa, enabling them to stay in education, develop businesses, create jobs and deliver prosperity

Moving on the figures below represent the festivities of Dionysus: wine and fertility - and perhaps a little more wine.

Back to flowers in the Mediterranean biome.

We have now left the biomes. We didn't visit the Rainforest biome this time, as it was so busy.

Next we have The Minibeast Mansion Hotel to keep children amused.

Three photos from fields of flowers on the way to Eden's Core building.

The Core has an exhibition of Invisible Worlds and also other exhibits as below.

A last look at the biomes as we make our way home.

It's hard to visualise now that the Eden Project was built in a china clay pit - but you can see the white clay in the photo below.

I remember years ago visiting the Eden Project as it was being constructed. Staff said that seeing Eden being built was on a par with watching the pyramids being built in Egypt. I thought this a mite over the top! But, who knows, as Eden is spreading to several other countries. Below, for example, is a model of another Eden to be built in Qingdao, China.

Thus ends our Eden Project visit, but we'll be back. No doubt next time we'll also visit the Rain Forest biome, though it can get busy at times - plus the warmth and moisture tends to mist up my camera lens!

Many thanks for visiting my blog - good wishes ~ Mike.

Shades of Colour While Walking In South Cornwall

Sometimes an April day will suddenly bring showers, rain to grow the flowers - and so it seems, as suddenly there is an abundance of colours.

We were wandering locally. Cornwall never lets you down. It's not just beaches, though some are quite special.

An early display of bluebells almost hidden in the hedgerow.

Not sure what the small flowers are but they brighten an old wall.

We looked down on the valley with the old chimney, from the china clay industry, still in position.

More ways to brighten an old Cornish wall.

An abundance of forget-me-nots

Then when in silence thou doest walk,
Nor being round with whom to talk;
When thou art on the mighty deep,
And do in quiet action sleep;
If we no more on earth do meet,

Forget me not.*

Back to reality, this little fellow joined us on our walk but soon got bored with our company.

Colour on the bushes.

A rhododendron in all its glory.

Ah, and just in case you need to know the time - a dandelion clock.

A colourful duo - a post box and a yellow hydrant sign - the numbers indicate the size of the water main (top number) and the bottom number indicates the distance to the actual hydrant.

Another shade of yellow.

Ah, and a lonely pansy.

Finally, as it's April some May flowers! 

Remember though: Ne'er cast a clout till May is out. Back in the 15th century clout meant a fragment of clothing.

* The poem, from 1841, by Ann Plato.

Thank you for visiting my blog ~ Mike.