Dear Janie

The Gardens have well and truly sprung to life! The bluebells along the Woodland Walk and throughout the Lost Valley are putting on a stunning show. The ground in the Kitchen Garden is filling up with new crops everyday and the beautifully warm and sunny days we have been having of late are hinting that summer  is right around the corner.

This month we have a whole host of exciting things to share with you, from Heligan Wild Week and Wild Food Walks to Knit your Bit for WildWorks this summer.

We hope to see you soon!

Happy Reading,

Lorna, James and Elle

The days are longer and warmer and the risk of frost seems to be behind us! The gardeners are working away, tidying those spring plants that have gone over and planting out flowers and vegetables ready for the arrival of summer. The gardens are alive with new life, lush green growth and new blooms popping up everywhere.

In the Kitchen Garden the Apple Arch is in blossom and smells divine! The double arch of blossom creates a striking frame as you tunnel your way through, past the rhubarb bursting out of the ground. Rhubarb will be making regular appearances on the Heligan Kitchen menu as it is cropped for all to enjoy.

The wisteria draping the archway between the Flower and Sundial Garden is awakening from its inertia and its purple petals are beginning to make a happy appearance.

Over on the Home Farm this month, it’s all about the pigs! Our Berkshire pigs are in the spotlight and sows, Thelma and Louise are due to give birth next month. In other piglet news, one of our Lop sows is also due to farrow, she looks as if she may burst, so we think her piglets may come very soon.

The Melon Yard is high in swallow activity and is a great place to sit and watch them and listen to their musical twittering. They are busy sitting on their first brood after building their first nest. They can have up to three broods a year and it takes a pair of swallows up to 1,200 journeys to build a nest!

Tickets on sale now! For yours, please click here.

In August 1914 a group of gardeners wrote their names on the wall of the Thunderbox, an outdoor toilet in the Heligan Estate.  It was a last act of hope and camaraderie before marching off to fight in the first World War.  Of the 13 men known to have enlisted, just four survived…

The story of those men… their families, their friends and their community… is being brought vividly to life in a remarkable and heart-warming new play that marks the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI.

Hosted in two of Cornwall’s most iconic venues: the Minack Theatre and the Lost Gardens of Heligan itself, from 21st to 31st of May, it is a story with great resonance for audiences of all ages.

Click here to find out more & get your tickets …

 Saturday 26th May – until Sunday 3rd June, 10am-5pm.

Wild Week returns to Heligan and we invite you all to join us to discover your wild side and enjoy a week of fun outdoor play.*

*Grubby knees guaranteed!

Begin your journey in the Wild Tribe Yurt.  Choose a tribe and become a frog, a butterfly, a fox or an owl. Join in the fun, paint your own face and make your tribal headdress before taking part in our wild activities.

A giant outdoor assault course awaits adventurers (big and small) to test your animal instincts: can you fly like an owl through the trees? Leap like a frog? Scrabble through our fox’s den? And balance like a beautiful butterfly?

Test your hunter gatherer skills, become your tribal animal and see whether you can take aim and strike your prey.

Feel the beat of your animal tribe!

Join in one of our musical workshops – help create a song and try out a unique Tribal call. At the end of each day join us round our campfire for a Wild Sing-along!

At the end of it all, wind down and chill out by our fire, enjoy toasting your own marshmallow. Relax in one of our hammocks nestled under the trees and tune into the sounds of nature!

All Heligan Wild Week activities are included within normal gardens admission charges.

On Monday 28th May, Wednesday 30th May & Friday 1st June wild food forager Emma Gunn invites you to join her on a wild food walk around The Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Get back to nature with an experienced forager and explore the wild side of the Heligan Estate. Discover how to identify wild plants for culinary use and learn about their fascinating history.

Set out on a mini adventure to explore Heligan hedgerows, fields and ancient woodland borders, identifying the vast array of wild food growing in these different habitats along the way.

Whether you are an experienced forager or a complete beginner, a food-lover or nature enthusiast, there will be something for everyone during these Wild Food Walks. Come and discover the abundance of wild food growing locally and develop the skills and confidence to forage on your own.

For more info on Emma’s Wild Walk click here

On  June 1st, in celebration of People and Gardens 20th year anniversary and their outstanding contribution to the community, we invite you to a very special Heligan Feast Night.

People and Gardens and the Heligan team will be working together to create an evening of fantastic food heralding seasonality and the healing power of plants.

People and Gardens was established in 1997 to assist people with learning disabilities and mental health issues to develop work and social skills, to enable them to take control over their own lives.

This extra special feast night, which will be held on Friday 1st June, will showcase seasonal produce displays and diners will be treated to live music from The Blue Angels, playing music inspired by the 1940’s.  The menu will feature a combination of crops from Watering Lane Nursery and Heligan Kitchen Garden with a percentage of profits will go towards supporting the great work People and Gardens achieves.

Tickets are £18pp for 3 course meal with doors opening at 6:00pm with dinner will being served from 6:30pm.

Places are limited and booking is essential. To book your place at our special Feast Night table, please call Heligan reception on 01726 845100. Please note that full payment will be required upon booking.

16th and 17th June 2018

This Fathers weekend  bring your Dad and the dog for a weekend of rural delights.

Join us on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th June for a weekend of countryside fun! To include Heavy Horse Demonstrations, Dog Shows, Ale and BBQ’s.

All activities included with garden entry- 10am – 4pm

Throughout the weekend immerse yourself in traditional farm life on the Heligan Home Farm for heavy horse demonstrations and parades. Join One Man and his dog for competitive working dog show demonstrations and much more!

For the full event programme click here…

As part of 100:UnEarth at The Lost Gardens of Heligan this summer, WildWorks will be creating a knitted torpedo.

Can You Help Us?

Knit or crochet a square. Choose any style, any blue or a selection of blues. Be as creative as you like. Each square should be 20x20cm (8x8inches).

Donate some wool? Any blue will do!

Please send your completed square or wool donation to:

100:Knitting
The Lost Gardens of Heligan
Pentewan
St Austell
PL26 6EN

or

Join us at one of our 100:UnEarth ‘Knit-ins’

Bring your knitting or crocheting to begin a square, or continue what you’ve started…

Bring any completed squares and please feel free to make another!

Join us for a knit-in at The Lost Gardens of Heligan 10.30am – 1.30pm

Saturday 2nd June

Saturday 9th June which is World Wide Knit in Public Day!

Saturday 16th June

Saturday 23rd June

To find out more about why we need you to knit, knit, knit – Candy Smit explains here… 

www.lowerbarns.co.uk is a stylish Boutique B&B only a mile from these amazing gardens. Luxury stay and play for more details call us on 01726 844881