The valley here at Trebah is awash with pink, spring is certainly in full swing. The welcome absence of late frost this year and very kind weather has meant Cornish gardens have really been able to shine. Much of that colour is from our rhododendrons, which I thought I’d write a little about this month. 

We have many specimen rhododendrons in the garden as many of you will be aware. These have been widely written about over the years, including several ‘Trebah Gem’, an image of which was featured on the frontispiece of David Millais well respected book on Rhododendron’s in 1924. That original example is no longer in the garden, but was replaced with several new plantings in the early 2000’s. This history in mind, members of Trebah’s Garden Committee have started to look in more detail at our rhododendron collection, in particular some of the cultivars that remain unidentified within the garden. An initial examination gives us an indication that we could have several original plants from Gill’s Nursery – at one time a world leading rhododendron nursery – that brought plants back from China and Tibet, amongst other places. The nursery was sited at Tremough, where the University campus now is in Penryn, and you can still walk through the grounds there now. Some of the Trebah plantings are potentially very scarce and nationally important. More work to be done, but it’s a very interesting start.

Congratulations to our garden team on their results from entering many classes in the Falmouth Spring Show, you’ll see more details in another section of this newsletter. The team also entered the Cornwall Garden Society Show on 5th and 6th April and came third in the ‘9 Vases’ class. Stiff competition from Trewithen Garden and Viscount Falmouth trumped us, but non the less entering is still a great showcase for the garden. Also launched at the show was a new book on the Great Gardens of Cornwall. Written by Tim Hubbard, who recently authored another book, the Secret Gardens of Cornwall, the book features all fourteen member gardens including Trebah and is now available in our gift shop. Sir Tim Smit credited Tony Hibbert 

Sticking with the theme of history, on 10th May we are opening our history exhibition, the Story of Trebah, in the gallery space. This has been a big undertaking for our team who have written and designed the displays in-house to make it possible and we are looking forward with excitement to share what we think is the most complete record of Trebah’s past to date. A lot of visitors ask about Trebah’s story, curious to know more about the place and the people who called it home and cultivated this valley into one of the best loved gardens in the world. Hopefully we can soon scratch that itch for knowledge. More information to come next month.

We have been busy here at Trebah over the recent months, which is reassuring in an ever uncertain world. I say that as I can see around 50% all visits to Trebah during February and March were from you, our members. So, thank you for your support as ever, you make a real difference.

A very Happy Easter from all the team here at Trebah.

Best wishes, Jon
CEO, Trebah Garden