WELCOME TO THE LOST GARDENS OF HELIGAN NEWSLETTER

Left and above: the rare Green Heron in Lost Valley

A rare Green Heron residing in Heligan’s Jungle and Lost Valley has now been at the gardens for almost two months.

After capturing some lovely footage of the Green Heron we noticed some of the birds movements had a comical element and created a specially edited piece for your amusement.

It seems the mysterious Lost Gardens have encouraged the bird to develop a Rare Green Heron Boogie!

Visit our Heligan Scenes web page to view the strange spectacle for yourself...

Left: Heligan Shop goodies

Pot Grown Christmas Trees
For an eco-friendly Christmas Tree this year visit the Heligan Plant Centre. Quality, everlasting potted Blue Spruce, Nordman and Omorika Christmas Trees in various sizes are now available.

Heligan Christmas Treats
Visit the Heligan Shop for some Christmas inspiration. A wide range of beautiful and practical items are now on sale, perfect for Christmas gifts.

You can also visit the Heligan Shop from the comfort of your own home at www.heliganshop.com

Left: magical candle light

Join us for our last event of the year on Monday 6th December during our Cornish Christmas Night!

Enjoy the magic of Christmas and The Lost Gardens on a free lantern-lit tour, watch Heligan Wreath Decorating Demonstrations, have a late-night browse in the Heligan and Lobbs Shops, and indulge in a freshly baked Heligan mince pie served with lashings of carols and Cornish clotted cream!

Delight your senses on a free lantern-lit tour of the Northern Gardens. Discover the beautiful world of The Lost Gardens by night as you are guided along pathways past pools, glasshouses and secret grottos beautifully lit for this special occasion. Free lantern lit tours will be departing regularly from the Covered Area between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

A warm welcome waits in the Heligan Tearoom, where you can feast your taste buds on delicious mince pies, fresh from the Heligan Bakery and warming mulled wine, accompanied by cheering carols from local choirs.

Enjoy a unique late night Christmas shopping experience in the Heligan Shop, stocked with a wonderful array of Christmas gift ideas and special products crafted on-site at Heligan. Christmas treats from the Heligan Bakery including Christmas Puddings and Cakes will also be on offer.

Entry to the Heligan Shop, Heligan Plant Centre, Heligan Tearoom and Lobbs Farm Shop is free and all will be open from 5:30pm ~ 9pm.

Left: Heligan Christmas wreath

Discover magical Christmas moments at The Lost Gardens of Heligan throughout December.

Explore the enticing Victorian Pleasure Gardens, beautifully decorated to celebrate the festive season. The summerhouses, working buildings and secret gardens will be decorated with artistic and natural festive features, using some more unusual tree decorations, including Heligan grown shallots and baby pumpkins!

Traditional Wreath Decorating Demonstrations will be held in the Heligan Shop on Thursday 9th and 16th December (11am – 3pm) and during our Cornish Christmas Night on Monday 6th December.

Left: Christmas in the Heligan Tearoom

Enjoy a traditional Cornish Christmas Roast Lunch served with all the festive trimmings in the Heligan Tearoom, warmed by a welcoming wood burner on crisp days, the perfect way to celebrate the festive season with family and friends.

Bookings are now being taken for the Christmas Roast Lunches, which will be served on the following dates in December: Thursday 9th, Tuesday 14th, Thursday 16th & Tuesday 21st December.

The Heligan Kitchen will be combining the very best of Heligan and locally grown produce with succulent Cornish turkey supplied by Lobbs Farm Shop. A vegetarian option is also available.

Cornish Christmas Roast Lunch with Pudding - £15 per person, booking essential via Visitor Reception: Tel. 01726 845100

For further information please visit www.heligan.com

Left: Jungle Pond ~ a favourite with the rare Green Heron

Well the last few months have been very interesting for us.

Firstly, as I’m sure you all know, we have had a very rare Green Heron take up residence in the Jungle and Lost Valley. It was first spotted on Wednesday 6th October and has stayed with us ever since. It has adapted very well and spends its time catching stickleback, newts and any aquatic insects it can find. It has proven to be a very docile bird and most of the visitors interested have had excellent views.

Green Herons use an amazing fishing technique, where they drop food, twigs and other objects to attract fish! I was lucky enough to encounter such a moment. It had caught a Southern Hawker dragonfly from mid-air and placed it in the water in front of it. Then from the undergrowth a Water Rail, a very illusive wading bird, ran along and picked up the dragonfly and proceeded to eat it, much to the Herons disgust I’m sure!

We have been busy making a new barn owl box and fitting it with cameras ready for next year. We sited it in replacement for the old one, setting up an internal view of the nest chamber and an external view of the entrance. These views will be live on webcams next year. The female Barn Owl has already looked inside, so fingers crossed.

As winter is just around the corner there have been large numbers of birds arriving from the colder climes of Northern Europe. Fieldfare and Redwing are busy feeding on holly berries and fallen apples in our orchard. Firecrests have turned up in numbers, supposedly a very good year for them nationwide, along with their smaller cousins the Goldcrest. There have been huge flocks of Pigeon flying west over the estate, one of them must have included well over 5,000 birds!

The Kingfisher is still busy fishing in the Lost Valley and Jungle ponds. We have even spotted a pair, we’re still very hopeful that they will use our nest bank next year.

There is also a pair of Buzzards spending a lot of time in a Wider Estate field, so we are monitoring them closely to see if they stay to nest.

Left: the Mud Maid on Woodland Walk

Over the last few months I have been bringing you the Heligan e-newsletter. This however will be my last, as I am moving on from Heligan at the start of December. It has been an absolute pleasure working at Heligan and writing this newsletter, which I will now be able to enjoy as you do!

To say goodbye I took one last walk out in the gardens and estate to keep you up to date with all the latest Heligan news...

It is a bitterly cold day but the sky is blue and the sun is beaming down on the autumn colour in the trees, creating a beautiful show of vibrant oranges, yellows and rusty reds.

On the Cornus capitata, also known as the Himalayan Strawberry Tree, there are signs that the birds have been keeping themselves plump on the juicy yellow flesh of the strange lychee-like fruits.

There is plenty of holly around, full of glistening red berries, I have been told by a gardener this means we should expect a hard winter but it is hard to believe looking at the sky today.

On this, my last walk, I have made a special visit to the Mud Maid as she lays in one of my favourite autumn time spots. She is looking peaceful as ever, with her skirt of lush green ivy creepy over her legs and her body lays amongst the fallen autumn leaves.

As I continue through the Northern Gardens I notice a new path being made in the Scented Garden and a new cobbled drain being painstakingly installed along one of the winding paths. It is the perfect way to finish my walk, knowing that Heligan continues to gently evolve, whilst remaining a truly wonderful place of beautiful mystery.

Sarah

Left: James Hyland in the trees!

James has worked at The Lost Gardens of Heligan for over seven years. He began life at Heligan as a volunteer working in the sub-tropical Jungle.

After his work in the Jungle, James moved into a job in the Northern Gardens, which he carried out whilst studying an NVQ in Horticulture at Duchy College.

James is now studying NVQ level three in Horticulture whilst working as Heligan's Estate Supervisor. Today his job involves looking after the Wider Estate here at Heligan, which includes ancient woodlands, pasture and a beautiful herd of Dexters.

James is also involved in ensuring that the Wider Estate is managed in a wildlife sensitive manner, encouraging biodiversity and to support wildlife populations.

"At this time of year tree work takes up a lot of our time, making sure the gardens are safe for our visitors. That is why I enjoy this time of year so much as climbing trees is definitely my favourite part of the job!"

Left: three trees at sunset

We hope you have enjoyed our newsletter.

If you have any comments please get in touch via our website contact page.