Penjerrick Garden -- often referred to as "Cornwall's true jungle garden"—lies between

Budock Water Budock Water ( kw, Roseglos, meaning ''church hillspur'') is a village and former manor in the civil parish of Budock, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated two miles (3 km) west of Falmouth. According to the 200 ...

and

Mawnan Smith Mawnan Smith ( kw, Mownan an Gov) is a village in the civil parish of Mawnan in south Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and i ...

, near Falmouth,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Established in the early 19th century by Robert Were Fox F.R.S. and his children, Anna Maria, Barclay and

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

(R. W. Fox's brother,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

was responsible for the Garden at

Trebah Trebah ( kw, Tre Worabo, meaning ''Gorabo's farm'') is a sub-tropical garden situated in Cornwall, England, UK, near Glendurgan Garden and above the Helford River (). Part of the parish of Mawnan, the gardens are set within an area of the same ...

and his brother, Alfred, for the garden at

Glendurgan Glendurgan Garden ( kw, Glynn Dowrgeun, meaning ''deep valley of otters'') is a National Trust garden situated above the hamlet of Durgan on the Helford River and near Mawnan Smith, in the civil parish of Mawnan, Cornwall, England, United Kin ...

), the , sub-tropical, spring-flowering garden has views of Budock Water and a considerable historical and botanical interest. The founders planted the upper garden with specimens from abroad including

rhododendrons ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

camellias ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...

magnolias ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

azaleas Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

tree ferns The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tree ...

and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

s. The garden is also home to the Penjerrick and Barclayi hybrid rhododendrons. The skeleton of a

brain coral Brain coral is a common name given to various corals in the families Mussidae and Merulinidae, so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a brain. Each head of coral is formed by a colony of genetically ...

brought to Penjerrick by Captain FitzRoy of the ''Beagle'' (that was

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

's expedition ship) can be found in the garden. The lower part of Penjerrick is a dense valley garden reached by a wooden bridge. In this wild, jungle-like setting are four ponds and countless tree ferns that date back almost to the original planting of the garden. The tranquil garden (now owned by Rachel Morin) is at its best in April and May.

Images

Image:Penjerrick_Garden_Camelia.jpg, A Camellia in full bloom Image:Penjerrick_Garden_Bluebells.jpg, Bluebells in April Image:Cornish_Garden_Gunnera_Tree_Fern.jpg, Gunnera in the shade of a tree fern

References

External links

Official website

Great British Gardens
- Beautiful Gardens to visit and places to stay nearby
Gardens in Cornwall
Gardens in Cornwall Fox family of Falmouth {{Kerrier-geo-stub