A Cornish country garden

The Mid Cornwall Landscaping team show us how to bring the essence of the Duchy’s greatest gardens into our own.

If you are reading this you probably don’t need persuading that there are many advantages of living in Cornwall, the dramatic and beautiful scenery, arguably some of best beaches in the world, fantastic local produce and seafood to name but a few. We catch up with the team at Mid Cornwall Landscaping, who believe it also offers unique opportunities for creating beautiful gardens that take advantage of the unique climate, complement the local landscape and enhance the experience of living in Cornwall.

“We pride ourselves in being able to create gardens to make the most of the benefits and overcome  the challenges.”

“We recognise many people are living, relocating or escaping for the weekend to Cornwall to make the most of all it has to offer rather than spend all their time constructing and maintaining a garden,” explains Chris of Mid Cornwall Landscaping (MCL). “Thankfully, we believe we can provide hard and soft landscaping solutions that incorporate some of the best plants and materials but will not cause you maintenance headaches.”

MCL brings over 30 years’ experience of gardening and landscaping in Cornwall, and the team understand the joys and challenges that Cornwall offers when creating gardens. While Cornwall enjoys a subtropical climate, it is also exposed to the elements; it’s surrounded with amazing views and scenery, but faced with the challenges of sloping sites and difficult access.“We pride ourselves in being able to create gardens to make the most of the benefits and overcome the challenges,” says Chris.

The Cornish climate means it’s possible to be the envy of other gardeners from different parts of the country by growing plants that elsewhere would be damaged by frost. The popular subtropical gardens like Tresco Abbey Gardens, Heligan and Trebah, with their tree ferns, palms, agapanthus, echiums and succulents, can be reproduced on a domestic scale, whether in a small courtyard or a more generous plot.

Many of the grasses and perennials that are fashionable at this time also thrive in the Cornish climate, in coastal areas they work equally well in a border or gravel gardens. At times it may feel far from subtropical in Cornwall and shelter and windbreaks are required. There are many types of hedging plants that grow well here even in some of the most exposed places. Grisellinia, Euonymus and Olearia are all evergreen and will withstand the elements.

Cornwall also provides a wide range of resources in the natural and built landscape including granite and slate. “We seek to incorporate these materials in a contemporary or traditional way to complement existing or new buildings and their surroundings,” continues Chris. “Whether it be dry-stone walling, paving, chippings or boulders, these materials also make the perfect backdrop or surface to sit alongside Cornish planting. At Mid Cornwall Landscaping we have the expertise and the experienced tradesmen to design and build these features into your garden.”

With the help and guidance of Mid Cornwall Landscaping why not make the most of your Cornish garden and add this to your list of the benefits of living in this county.