Wednesday 3 April 2013

Where the fairies live...

If you want to see the whole photos in this post (they appear strangely cropped here), just click on them.

Dear readers,

I hope you have all had a nice Easter break and thank you so much for all your kind comments about my little sugar bomb in my last post! 

Over Easter we have been exploring one of my favourite parts of the UK, the stunning paradise that is Cornwall. A freezing paradise at the moment, I admit, but nevertheless a stunning one. In the next few blog posts, I will share a few fabulous findings from this little outing, starting, actually, at the end...

***

Trewoofe Orchard

If you drive inland from the charming little coastal village of Mousehole (south west Cornwall) and suddenly stumble upon a meadow (see the last photo in this post) so fairy tale-like you just have to stop to see if Tinkerbell or some other magical little creature will come skipping or bouncing across the yellow-dotted green carpet... well, then you are most likely just at the entrance of one of the most magical little gardens I have seen in a long time...


Discovering it was for us pure chance and happened just like in the description above. I had just yelled 'STOOOPPPP!' to the man in the house, who stood on the brakes to let his snap-happy, spring-starved other half stumble out of the car, moaning her 'ooooh'-s and her 'aaaah'-s at the sight of the magical meadow.

And then we saw it.

The sign that announced that the garden at Trewoofe Orchard was open to the public.

Oh boy.

Moss lovers, hold on to your hats, here we go...


Four acres of green loveliness, two of which are natural bluebell wood (I can only imagine how stunning it must look when the bluebells are out!) and the rest offering what they describe as 'more formal planting', but which in my eyes still means a relaxed sort of formal, if you see what I mean, planted but in such a way it blends naturally in with the wilder surroundings.


Barbara and Dick Waterson have done some truly amazing work here, and I could have lost myself in this mossy haven for hours if it were not for the fact that we were heading home that day and had to set off.

Moss seems to be the name of the game here, and even this bench seems to have been encouraged to fit in with the theme, perhaps even aided by a little yoghurt...? (Update: I have now learnt that no yoghurt was involved, just natural mists and lichen-encouraging weather conditions.)

Do you see the mossy tree trunk diagonally behind the bench?


This photo was taken at the foot of this yummy tree trunk and you can see part of the stream that flows through this gorgeous woodland.

Looking the other way, we are facing the house (you may spot part of the roof at the top left corner of this photo).


Those of you who may have read some of the children's stories by the wonderful late Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, would you not agree with me that this is just the kind of enchanted forest where magical beings lead very magical lives and some of Astrid's characters would not look at all out of place?


Despite the bitter, BITTER cold temperatures this uncharacteristically chilly spring, I was surprised to see some bushes in bloom. Seeing the mesmerising faces of these red beauties really did fill me with hope that there will be a spring this year too!

Behind the house is a lovely swimming pool, bordered by these green arches, offering perhaps not so much shelter for swimmers, but certainly something to feast your eyes on as you are splashing about. 


Sooo, are you tempted by this garden yet?

Well, let me then be the bearer of good news...

It is for sale! The lady of the house told us that they are selling and the house and garden could be yours for - in the excess of - £825,000! For more details, check it out on Rightmove here.


Well, should you not have that sum floating around in your pockets but still want to find out more about the gardens and how you could find it, see their own website here. Should you want to visit and are coming from afar, I strongly recommend contacting them first, to make sure the gardens are indeed open to the public on the day you would like to visit.



Now, had I had the funds to snap up this gorgeous green gem, then this is most likely where you would have found me (most likely with a number of my favourite cushions!), contemplating the world's many mysteries, sipping elderflower cordial...



(Update: This meadow is not part of the gardens at Trewoofe Orchard. It belongs to a neighbour and is private property, but can still be admired from the road!)

Call me an old romantic fool, but is this not a meadow that 
speaks to your heart, your eyes and your imagination?

Mossy greetings to you all!
Helena

27 comments:

  1. En fantastisk woodland have...:-)
    Jeg har altid ønsket mig en tur til Cornwell :-)
    Man må håbe at ev. nye købere vil fortsætte B&B så mange kan få fornøjelsen af dette skønne sted.

    Hej fra Lisbeth

    ReplyDelete
  2. This meadow is simply magical and your photos completely capture all of its beauty! Wishing you a lovely spring!
    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh så underbart ! Tack för att vi fick följa med dig till detta magiska älveland, ha en skön kväll !
    //Anna

    ReplyDelete
  4. Utterly, utterly magical Helena.
    How you managed to strap those benches to the roof of the car is beyond me:)
    That spongy moss duvet covering the woodland floor is truly the stuff of fairytales.
    To my romantic eye, picture number eight is the money shot, the fairy cushions lead the way......

    ReplyDelete
  5. lovely
    ♥doris

    ReplyDelete
  6. Realmente un jardín de cuentos de hadas!Es muy bello.Me encantaría poder visitar un lugar así.
    Un abrazo grande.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The only word for this is "magical"! Most definitely, some fairies are living there:)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Såååååååå vackert!!!

    Kram Malin lycklig Butiksägarinna...;))

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm sure the fairies were there, peeking at you and enjoying your excitement. What a pretty place.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Säkert trivs både älvor och vättar i den trädgården! Vilken ljuvlig plats och så härligt att få se blommande vårblommor, som jag är så svältfödd på just nu! Grönskan och allt som spirar här - så helt otroligt skönt. Så många gröna nyanser på mossan, murgrönan och allt annat sköngrönt!
    Jo, jag har hört att ni också har haft det kallt, precis som vi och här önskar vi bara att den eviga snön ska försvinna. Solen gör allt vad den kan och snart kan nog inte vintern hålla emot längre!

    Tack för en ljuvlig trädgårdsvandring!
    Kramar
    LIsa

    ReplyDelete
  11. Min kära Helena!
    Som alltid så visar du så underbara bilder, och dina underfundiga texter är ju helt fantastiska!
    Jag kikar in här med jämna mellanrum, och kommer alltid på mig själv att sitta med ett stort leende på läpparna när jag scrollar ner för att läsa och se dina inlägg. Det är alltid en lisa för själen att besöka din blogg!
    Ha det så gott!

    Kram Jonna

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yes, definitely a Fairy garden - lovely! x

    ReplyDelete
  13. En fantastisk hage! Elsker mosen og det eventyrlige landskapet.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Underbara bilder från en underbar trädgård som har DET. Ljuvligt med det gamla mossiga i kontrast till det skira vårgröna...

    Kram

    ReplyDelete
  15. Stunningly beautiful moss garden! I hope you had a wonderful Easter.
    xo, Lissy

    ReplyDelete
  16. wild beauty! Stunning!
    Have a good springtime!
    dania

    ReplyDelete
  17. Being 'Swenglish' myself, I grew up with the lovely Astrid Lindgren books and know just what you mean Helena! What a stunning place.....shall definitely make a note of it for next time I am in Cornwall.

    Have a lovely day!

    Sophia x

    ReplyDelete
  18. Helt, helt underbart!!!!Tänk att få gå där och strosa..Tack för att du visade detta,det kan man leva på länge! Kram Torprosen

    ReplyDelete
  19. Skjønne bilder fra en magisk verden!

    Anne

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wow, what a garden! I'm so sad I missed it when I was in Cornwall some years ago. I love mossy gardens and sure my hubby would have too. Unfortunately I haven't won in the lottery else I guess I could have been tempted to buy that fairy tale estate :o).
    Can't wait to your next posts about Cornwall. They sure will bring back lovely memories to a great holiday.
    Take care
    Alex

    ReplyDelete
  21. this garden is beautiful, I like Cornwall, and all England, but the English are the best Gardeners :-), Your Photos and your house are beautiful too :-). have a nice spring.
    Dana

    ReplyDelete
  22. Vilken ljuvlig plats!!! Dina bilder är verkligen helt makalöst fina!

    Läser ikapp lite här inne och njuter:)

    Kram kram

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hello Helena,
    Beautiful garden ! I love it a lot !
    Have a nice day,
    Céline, french watercolorist.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hejsan hejsan!

    Här klev man rakt in i sagornas värld minsann! Trodde inte såna här platser existerade på riktigt. Wow, så magiskt vackert! Vilken tur att din andra hälft har så snabb reaktionsförmåga att han tryckte på bromspedalen direkt, fniss. Med dig i passagerarsätet misstänker jag att han har övat mååånga gånger! ;))

    Om jag fantiserar lite skulle jag tro att det var kanske här "din" gamla träsoffa fick sista vilan? Typ trädgårdshimlen eller paradiset för skavankiga gamla trädgårdsmöbler - och det skulle inte förvåna mig om man fick se en rumpnisse kika fram bakom en mossig sten heller ;)

    Kram Sanna




    ReplyDelete
  25. Those pictures are lovely. I hope I get a chance to see Cornwall in person some day.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Nice post, Thanks for your very useful Information, I will bookmark for next reference

    ReplyDelete

Dearest reader, I am sorry you have to go through the extra trouble of word verification to leave a comment here. After having received around 250 spam comments for each post recently, I have unfortunately had to add this filter.

Thank you so much for your comments!