Tanglewood Wild Garden where you can lose yourself

Cornwall is home to many wonderful gardens and amongst them is Tanglewood Wild Garden. The gardens are a little different from the other more formal gardens you will find here; playful, whimsical and exploration comes to mind. They are not the place to come if you are looking for neat and formal gardens.

Tanglewood Wild Garden is a natural garden of wildflowers and woodland covering 9 unspoilt glorious acres. They aim to keep the gardens as natural and wild as possible to encourage wildlife, birds and insects to make their homes here in this wildlife paradise. There is no such thing as a weed here.

The ponds provide a source of water for birds and wildlife as well as a habitat for many animals and birds. Birds and butterfly visitors abound.

With four ponds, woodland and an abundance of flowers there is ample to explore. Keep your eyes open as you never know what you will see as you make your way around the winding paths. It is often likened to entering a a magical land with its stunning wildness and quirky oddities.

Children will love the rope swing, feeding the ducks, discovering the fairy doors, playing with the giant lawn chess and X’s and O’S set, as well as the freedom to run and explore. See what other fun and unusual thing you will discover on a visit.

Or take time to sit and reflect and take in the pretty natural landscape.

The gardens are not at all commercialised. There are no catering facilities but you are encouraged to take along a picnic and there are plenty of seating areas dotted around. The gardens are a stunning setting for a picnic.

However, they do serve drinks and cakes at the weekend, at the cake hut.

It is an idyllic location, so tranquil and peaceful, the gardens are truly beautiful. They are gardens where guests of all ages will find something enjoyable.

If you are a dog owner, you will be delighted to hear your four legged friends are welcome as long as on leads.

We recently had a lovely chat with Tony and Kerry the owners of Tanglewood Wild Gardens.

We are pleased to see you will be opening again this year, when will you be open to visitors from?

"11th April until 30th September"

You have been working on the gardens since 2001 and opened them to the public in 2014. What made you decide to open to the public?

"We started opening for different charities for one day of the year and received the feedback from people that they would love to come throughout the year, which was why we opened from April to September 7 days a week."

Having visited your garden, it demonstrates gardens don’t have to be neat and formal to be beautiful. Do you have any advice to those who might want to create a wild garden?

"We leave brambles, stinging nettles,gorse as they are food for various insects and birds, we never mow lower than 4 inches to allow movement for the froglets which come out of the ponds every year, We both say let a bit of wild come into your garden and you will be surprised by the visitors you get."

What flowers are best to encourage bees and insects into your garden?

"Everything we plant encourages bees, butterflies and insects."

What is your favourite thing to grow?

"We love anything gigantic, and fast growing, bamboo, eucalyptus, flowering bushes such as camelias, rhododendron. We both love all plants."

What is your favourite British flower?

"I love to see the daffodils in spring."

What is a typical day like here in the gardens?

"We start at 9am, looking forward to our visitors, it can be quiet, or noisy with lots of children having fun, we don't have a typical day."

What is our favourite part about your day at work?

"Meeting lots of people who love the gardens and talking to them."

Who comes up with the ideas for the sculptures and oddities found around the garden? They are fun and playful.

"Tony does all the carving of the sculptures, and says he has ideas that he hasn't thought of yet, Kerry does all the glass work and mosaics."

Your cake is popular and a firm favourite with vistors, are they all homemade?

"Yes all handmade, I am trying to add gluten-free and vegan this year."

Do you practice sustainability?

"Yes we do, our water is from our own bore hole, power by solar, all of my cake hut mugs and plates are china, we use loose tea, and our paper cups are biodegradable. We do not have litter bins as we expect all litter to be taken away, and we do not have dogs bins as we expect doggie bags to be disposed of by the owner."

You’re stuck on a deserted island. What three plants would you want to be stranded with?

"Apple tree, tomato, honeysuckle"

You have being operating charity events for the past number of years. These raise vital funds for local charities. How can people support them?

"By attending our open day, it is always on the first Sunday in July, this year 3rd July 2022. We support Cornwall Hospice Care"

Thank you both for taking the time to chat with us, we really enjoyed it and look forward to visiting the gardens once they open in the spring.

A visit to Tanglewood Wild Gardens is a fun and engaging experience. They are a delightful change to what can sometimes be stuffy and over manicured gardens. These are gardens where humans and nature coexist. Make sure to check out all the nooks and crannies so as to not miss anything.

To find out more about these magical gardens, please visit -

"Tanglewoood Wild Garden"

Sancreed Lane

Newbridge

Penzance TR20 8FP

Telephone: 07581 339501

Website: http://www.tanglewoodmaycontainnuts.co.uk/

Email: [email protected]