Michelia Doltsopa

Monica Dance

Magnolia Elizabeth

Caerhays Surprise

Caerhays

History of The Garden

Like so many other keen gardeners at the end of the last century, "J.C." soon caught the excitement generated by the opening up of China to the West and the deluge of new plant introductions being made by the great British plant collectors, in particular E.H. Wilson. Wilson's first expedition to China in 1900, financed by the Chelsea nurserymen, James Veitch and Sons, produced more than 1,500 packets of seeds of different plants, most of which had never been grown in Britain before. Almost half were rhododendrons and knowing how well suited the Cornish climate was for rhododendron growing, J.H. Veitch asked J.C. Williams to grow some of them at Caerhays. This request was greeted with great enthusiasm.

The first rhododendrons were big enough to be planted out in the castle grounds in 1905/06 and some of these, such as Rhododendron lutescens are still in existence today. By 1910 plant material was arriving at Caerhays from another great plant collector, the Scotsman George Forrest.

Once plants were safely established within the castle grounds, which was no easy task in the first place, many requiring careful siting, shelter and constant attention from Caerhays Head Gardeners, "J.C." would begin to practice his great passion for hybridisation. During the period 1910 until his death in 1939, he introduced to cultivation numerous hybrids of both rhododendron and magnolia including the very long flowering Rhododendron 'Crossbill' which is a cross between Rhododendron lutescens and Rhododendron spinuliferum. Many of these hybrids are firm favorites with gardeners throughout the world. However it is without doubt his work with camellias for which he is most revered. In 1923 he crossed Camellia japonica with Camellia saluenensis producing a hybrid which took its vigor and characteristic handsome polished leaves from japonica and exquisite flowers, produced in such profusion, from saluenensis. This hybrid called Camellia x williamsii, is one of the most valuable hybrid shrubs ever produced and without doubt the best camellia to grow in Britain.

After "J.C's" death, his eldest son Charles ensured the future of the collection, followed by his nephew, Julian Williams C.B.E. who appointed Phillip Tregunna as only the third Head Gardener since the creation of the gardens in 1896. Both are still there today (although Phillip officially retired in 1996, passing on the title of Head Gardener to Jaimie Parsons) and both are supremely proud and rightly so, of the parts they have played in ensuring that Caerhays enters the 21st century in the way that "J.C." would have wanted.

When the deciduous magnolias first arrived in Britain around the turn of the century they caused quite a stir, for they flower before the leaves emerge, which at the time was something rarely seen on plants in Britain. Believe it or not many people disapproved, feeling this to be quite a vulgar display and only planted those magnolias which flowered on branches modestly covered with leaves. Today, not only at Caerhays, but throughout the country, the flowering of the deciduous magnolias is considered a glorious spectacle and a sure sign that spring has arrived.

The whole garden covers some hundred acres and even in March and April at the height of the Cornish spring flowering season it has a peaceful, tranquil atmosphere. Curving paths lead off in different directions, wild bird song abounds and occasionally the mewing call of a male peacock echoes up the valley, as like some park warden on patrol he struts around the castle walls. The higher you climb the more open the planting becomes, with a few mature trees giving shelter to the hundreds of camellias that clothe this area. Already affected by drought and Dutch Elm Disease, on the night of January 25th 1990 so the great storm struck. Over two hundred large trees were lost from the gardens immediately behind the castle and another seven hundred from the surrounding woodland.

It is no surprise considering the long relationship between Caerhays and camellias that a large proportion of the latest ornamental plantings are camellias and in many cases progeny from the originals. By early April the flowering season for many is over, species such as Camellias saluenensis and Camellia x williamsii were at their best in January. Nevertheless, such is the range at Caerhays that there are still a number just reaching perfection. Camellia japonica "Alba Simplex" with its large, single white flowers and "poached egg" center of golden yellow stamens is quite magnificent, as is Camellia "Dream Castle", it has such a profusion of shell-pink frilly blooms that the branches are weighed down to the ground. Camellia "Bridgadoon", one of the later cultivars produced from "J.C.'s" Camellia x williamsii hybrid stands some eight feet tall and has delightful, robust rose-pink flowers. Considering it was only planted in 1991, its size and vigor is tremendous.

Rhododendron lutescens grows wild, freely seeding itself up the dark, dank quarry walls, from where its primrose-yellow flowers shine like beacons. These are seedlings from the original introduction, collected by E.H. Wilson in China and sent to Caerhays from Veitch's nursery in 1904. From the old quarry, the hissing sound of surf breaking on the beach in Porthluney Cove can be easily heard. A unique sound within a garden, even for Cornwall, but that's what Caerhays is, completely unique. The combination of its coastal location, undulating topography, mild climate, sheer scale and incredible plant collection is quite simply beyond duplication.

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