WELCOME TO THE LOST GARDENS OF HELIGAN NEWSLETTER

Thursday 27th & Friday 28th May
Internationally renowned photographer, Linda Rutenberg, will be offering an exclusive photographic workshop at The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Within a living night~time studio discover the special techniques for capturing images of plants, flowers and gardens by night.

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Friday 28th May
Linda Rutenberg, international night-time photographer and creator of the stunning publication The English Garden at Night, will be holding a book signing in the Heligan Shop from 2pm to 3pm.

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Adventures with a Modern Day Plant Hunter
Wednesday 23rd June
Roy Lancaster will be at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, taking an exploration through the historic plantings of the Northern Gardens, officially opening the Heligan Plant Centre and offering an evening talk, focusing on his work as a modern day plant hunter.

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There are lots of nesting birds being seen around the gardens and estate at the moment, including the blue tits and jackdaws which have taken up residence in two of our bird boxes fitted with cameras. The camera views can be seen on www.heliganwild.com

The swifts and swallows are back from Africa and can be seen swooping over the dipping pool in the walled Flower Garden and darting in and out of the working buildings of the Melon Yard where they have been known to nest in previous years.

Deer activity has been spotted in the woods which sit below Horsemoor Hide. A doe and her calf were seen several times last week, taking in the lovely atmosphere of the Heligan estate!

We think the barn owls using the box in a nearby barn are now sitting on eggs, as the male has been seen regularly visiting the box with food. If they do have eggs they would be expected to hatch around the end of this month or at the beginning of June. A camera view showing the outside of this box can be seen at www.heliganwild.com
 

At this time of year the Productive Gardens begin to fill out with the new seasons plantings. This last week has seen a sudden spurt of growth as the temperature has begun to rise. Planting out of crops such as the French Climbing Beans and the Pumpkins and Squashes has begun whilst the last of the annuals in the Flower Garden are being added too.

The Flower Garden beds have seen many new additions this season, including a set of three new rose beds, which will add to the glorious scents in the summer months to come.
To keep up to date with all the latest from the Productive Gardens you can take a look at our blog here.

New plans for the Italian Garden have been put on display in this garden's summerhouse, to allow visitors a taste of what is to come towards the end of the year.

A carpet of bluebells and a canopy of vibrant green leaves in Lost Valley are providing a stunning backdrop to some rare 'whitebells', view the full story here.

The Productive Gardens at Heligan, which are supervised by Nicola Bradley, incorporates the Vegetable Garden and Melon Yard. The Melon Yard is home to our unique Pineapple Pit, which is the only manure heated example in the UK. The Productive Gardens also include the walled Flower Garden and between these areas over 200 varieties of fruit, vegetable, salad and herb are nurtured by Nicola and her team. All of the Heligan grown produce is taken to the kitchen and used in the daily lunch menu, which is served to our visitors in the Heligan Tearoom.

Nicola originally studied a degree in Printed Textiles. After working as a freelance textile designer for 10 years Nicola went on to re-train with a National Trust Careership Apprentice Scheme. This course combined the teaching of practical horticultural skills alongside academic learning and saw Nicola working in the walled kitchen garden and 18th century landscape gardens of Clumber Park for three years.

Nicola has now worked at The Lost Gardens of Heligan for three and a half years; Nicola has a special interest in heritage fruit and vegetables, which combines perfectly with her role in the Victorian Productive Gardens at Heligan. Nicola has recently featured in Grow Your Own magazine and The Lady magazine, answering questions for their readers.

"Heligan is an incredibly interesting place to work and I feel very happy when tending the ground which has been cared for by so many people over the years. If productive gardening is your passion then you couldn't find anywhere better to visit or work!" ~ Nicola Bradley

To keep an eye on the Productive Gardens take a look at our Productive Gardens blog.

Celebrating 20 years since the gardens were re-discovered.

Become a Friend of Heligan and visit The Lost Gardens all year round for only £20!

For full details of Friends benefits and information on how to become a Friend of Heligan please click here.

We hope you have enjoyed our newsletter. If you have any comments please get in touch via our website contact page.