Walking At The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall

Despite the above sign we visited the Lost Gardens of Heligan during the day. Generally speaking outdoor gardens aren't at their best in winter but we found some (strange) bits of interest.

There were a few flowers, as can be seen below. I snapped a few quick photos as we walked.

For a moment, when I spotted this hare, I thought it must be Spring - but the chill in the air soon persuaded me otherwise.

Diggory, the scarecrow, looked quite alone in the vegetable garden, but he had some gloves, a scarf and a hat to protect himself from the cold.

Ah, a few flowers in the Italian Garden and ...

... a very large frog or maybe a toad.

Moving on there was a pleasant tree with beehives in the background

The Sundial Garden was, unfortunately, closed but there were some very large 'flowers' as a consoltation.

Next we came across this beauty alongside the old brick wall.

Moving on to some friendly donkeys.

No other animals about, probably because of the weather ...

... though a few sheep were enjoying the green grass.

A large tree indicated that we were near the Lost Valley and Heligan's jungle.

Lots of greenery to be seen - near and far.

The jungle resides within a steep sided valley and has it's own microclimate. I believe the temperature is about five degrees milder than the other surrounding gardens within Heligan.

We came across some colourful flowers.

All looked brighter, with a pond and a pleasant place to sit

The next photos show the reflections of the surrounding trees in the water.

More reflections and plants. Some of the plants date back to Victorian times, when plant hunters brought back specimans from overseas.

Yet more ferns and plants.

A last glance at the edge of the jungle before we leave to make our way back home.

Have to be quiet though - so we don't awaken the Mud Maid from her slumbers.

I have only included a few of Heligan's gardens. I'd also better add that the novelty items like the hare and the large frog are part of a winter light display and are now being removed. I have written several posts on Heligan including a summer post with lots of photos see:

Lost Gardens of Heligan - Voted UKs Top Visitor Garden 

Well, that's all for this week, hope you are enjoying 2022. Good wishes ~ Mike.

Colours of Cornwall in Autumn

Gosh, it was raining cats and dogs when we arrived at Cornwall's Eden Project for a short walk.

We hurried down to the Mediterranean biome for some shelter and to look at some of the plants.

We plonked ourselves on a seat, where we often sit when visiting the biome. A friendly robin came to say hello.

This reminded me of a good friend, sadly now deceased, who believed robins brought him good luck. 

One Saturday he was off to a football match to see his team play an away game. The team, by the way, also had the nickname of 'the robins'.

He drove about half the journey and pulled into a lay-by for a cup of tea. His wife was with him and he pointed out a robin sitting nearby. The bird then hopped onto his car bonnet. My friend said a few words to the effect that this was lucky - and therefore his team would win.

Before he continued his journey he crumbled up a biscuit for the robin. As he left the lay-by, he could see the robin feeding away and the bird appeared to look up as if in acknowledgement.

Yes, his team did win. But he was luckier than this because he bought a club lotto ticket as he entered the ground. At half time the result of the lotto was called over the loud speakers and my friend won £1000! So the robin did bring him luck. And maybe leaving something for the bird brought him some extra luck. Kind acts are often rewarded.

Anyway, still in the Mediterranean biome, there was also an owl - a big one! 

The colours are uplifting ... 

... even though the rain was still chucking it down.

Another photo from the same biome.

We decided to head for the Rainforest biome.

Pink flowers to welcome us ...

and lots of leaves ...

... big ones!

There was also a photo from a real rainforest.

An information board explained the following:

A little Ot Danum girl running through the forest far up the Melawi river in Kalinantan, the Indonesia part of the island of Borneo. She already knew the names and uses of many plants.

We continued wandering around the rainforest biome, in the pleasant warmth, and saw this basic building pleasantly decorated.

It was soon time to wander back to our car.

Mentioning the robin, in this post, reminded me of a meeting with a young bird we had in our garden, a while back.

We were doing some gardening when the little bird below flew onto my wife's gloved hand ... and stayed there - it wouldn't move.

I went indoors to get my camera and when I returned the blue tit still hadn't moved at all.

The RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) advice is: "Fledglings are extremely unlikely to be abandoned by their parents. Just because you cannot see the adult birds does not mean that they are not there. The parents are probably just away collecting food - or are hidden from view nearby keeping a watchful eye, or even being frightened away from their youngster by your presence. Fledglings should be left where they are, in the care of their own parents."

As for our young bird we settled him in the garden, where he would be safe, and in a short while he was gone.

There's not very much colour about at the moment, but saw this lonely nasturtium stretching through a fence.

Also these red leaves and berries were overlooking a high wall - not sure what they are called but they are very attractive

Of course it is possible to overdo leaves!

Oh well, guess that's it for this week, thanks for visiting my blog, enjoy your days ~ Mike.

Going Bananas in Cornwall, Plus a Harbour and Lots of Heligan Flowers

Going bananas in Cornwall, well not quite but my son has bananas growing in his garden, as can be seen in the photo above.

Another view of his plant.

Actually, the plant looks to be quite a cool dude.

Here's a better photo of the plant - they often look quite scruffy following high winds or heavy rainfall.

Moving on to one of our regular walks in Charlestown. A dog was waiting patiently by one of the cottage gates.

Looking down on some of the ships and boats in dock. This area has a gate to retain the water and there is also a leat to keep it topped up.

Looking west from the Charlestown harbour wall.

As the tide was out it was possible to walk further along the cliffside - carefully!

Looking east at the harbour entrance.  Visiting boats will have to wait for the tide to change.

Moving on now to  the Lost Gardens of Heligan, another of our regular haunts.

Lots of flowers on display as can be seen by the next six photos.

We walked past the Potting Shed but not much potting was going on.

Lots of apples though.

This is the sundial which gives this garden its name - the Sundial Garden.

There is much more to see at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, it stretches over 200 acres. From the gardens its possible to see the sea in the distance.

Below some fungi spotted on an old tree and ...

... shhh! finally the Mud Maid sleeps peacefully.

Thanks for visiting my blog - have an interesting weekend and week ahead ~ Mike.