The Gardens of Cornwall & The Chelsea Flower Show: May 14-23, 2026
About this trip
Cornwall’s wonderful gardens capture the hearts of locals and visitors alike. The county enjoys the warmth of the Gulf Stream giving it a unique microclimate that results in gardens full of the most exciting, rare and beautiful plants and trees in the British Isles.
Over the course of seven days in Cornwall we’ll visit a wide range of properties, from the formal to the informal, from modern to ancient and much more. All of them contain spectacularly diverse collections of plants and sculptures from around the world, and we’ll have a private guided tour of each one. At the end of our time in Cornwall, we’ll spend two nights in London and spend a fabulous day at the world renown Chelsea Flower Show,
The complete itinerary and details are below, but other trip highlights include a presentation / Q&A with author and broadcaster Tim Hubbard (The Great Gardens of Cornwall), a flower arranging class, and a seaweed foraging workshop - and of course, the Chelsea Flower Show!
GETTING THERE: We will meet at London Paddington train station - a convenient 15-minute train ride from Heathrow - and travel to St Austell together on May 14 and return to London on May 21. (Train tickets will be included) Depart from London on May 23. Please contact me for more details!
DATES:
MAY 14 - 23, 2026
Prices to be confirmed.
St Ives
Sample Itinerary
Caerhays Estate
Day 1: London -> Cornwall & Welcome Lunch
From Paddington Station in London, we’ll travel first class to St Austell in Cornwall. From there we’ll visit our first garden, the Caerhays Castle and Gardens and take a guided tour of the house and property. We will see their huge rhododendrons and learn how they thrive in the Cornish climate, which can have as much as 60 inches a year!
Then, we travel through the beautiful Cornish countryside to our hotel and check-in. There will be time to relax or enjoy the spa before our welcome dinner there.
Lanhydrock Gardens
Day 2: Lanhydrock House and the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery
After breakfast, depart for Lanhydrock House. This beautiful National Trust property has been the seat of the Earls of Radnor since the 1600s. Walk around the garden and enjoy its beautiful herbaceous borders, a fabulous formal parterre and colorful higher gardens. Afterwards, there will be time to visit the house.
In the afternoon we’ll visit the Duchy’s nursery, a showcase for Cornwall’s abundant native plants and an astounding variety of exotic specimens. After a tour of their cutting garden, we will participate in a cut-flower arranging class. You’ll depart with your own vase and bouquet to enjoy during your stay.
This evening we’ll meet up for dinner at a local restaurant.
Head gardener's office, Heligan
Day 3: Lost Garden of Heligan and Tregothnan
Heligan was once one of Cornwall’s finest estates. Its exotic gardens were “lost” in 1914 when the estate’s workforce of gardeners marched off to war…only four returned. Heligan re-awakened in 1990 to become Europe’s largest garden restoration project. Today, Heligan’s 200 acres are a paradise for the explorer, wildlife, plant lover and garden romantic. We’ll enjoy a guided tour of the highlights of the gardens and take some free time for lunch (and the shop.)
Afterwards, we’ll drive to Tregothnan Garden & Arboretum which is unique in its diversity of plants and trees, rare collections, sweeping vistas and peaceful secluded groves. They are well-known for their tea, the first to be grown in England. We’ll have a guided tour of the tea plantation and enjoy a tasting of some of their superb tea blends. Dinner in a village near the hotel.
Tregrehan
Day 4: Tregrehan and Lamorran Gardens
This morning we will visit the nearby Tregrehan Garden. A family estate from 1565, it feels if it came from the pages of a Jane Austen novel with its formal walled and sunken gardens, a greenhouse, champion yew and cedar of Lebanon trees, and much more. Expansive views from its parkland, across sheep meadows, to neighboring estates, suggest rambling walks, just as Elizabeth and Darcy would have done.
After lunch in St Mawes, we’ll continue to Lamorran Gardens. A deep passion for the gardens of Japan and the Mediterranean inspired this idyll 40 years ago by a pair of renowned London landscape architects. Stroll through dense alleyways of native and exotic specimens to emerge at stunning views of the Roseland Peninsula and the English Channel. This garden truly represents the Cornish tradition of gardening “on the edge.”
Seaweed on the beach at Helston
Day 5: The Seaweed Institute -> Penzance
Today we’ll say good bye to St Austell and move to West Cornwall. On the way, we’ll enjoy a very special food and art experience with the Seaweed Institute. Foraging on the beach, you will learn to identify and forage local seaweed species at the ocean foreshore. The cultural history of seaweed in Cornwall will be discussed, as well its agricultural, scientific and ecological uses. Then we’ll go back inside to to the art room to make a pressing, a Victorian practice that captures the beauty of seaweeds. After laying out your designs they will be loaded into our seaweed press where they will dry over the next weeks in their studio. (To be delivered when you’re back home.)
Afterwards, continue to Penzance and check into the hotel. This evening, I invite you to my nearby house for a reception of English wine and Cornish cheeses.
Tremenheere Garden
Day 6: Tremenheere and Trewidden
We’ll begin the day at Tremenheere Sculpture Garden, one of Cornwall’s most modern gardens. Art and nature merge seamlessly in this stunning garden and sculpture park. Encompassing works by internationally renowned works of art such as James Turrell’s Sky Space, it also has thoughtful plantings of subtropical species.
This afternoon we’re going to the nearby Trewidden Estate. Lovingly nurtured by generations of the Bolitho family and their devoted local gardeners, this sanctuary—just minutes from the historic fishing villages of Newlyn and Mousehole—is compact, gentle, and a perfect encapsulation of all the best Cornish gardens have to offer. There is a truly remarkable stand of tree ferns, said to be the finest in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Walled Garden has mixed borders to provide a riot of color.
Barbara Hepworth Museum
Day 7: Barbara Hepworth Museum & Garden
St Ives is known for its pottery, boats, beaches and beatniks. We travel there by train on one of the most scenic routes in Britain. Enjoy spectacular views as the line sweeps along the coast past the golden sands of Hayle Towans and Carbis Bay before arriving in St Ives.
Upon arrival, we’ll walk about ten minutes to the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden.
After lunch in St Ives, we will go back to Penzance for a special event with author and broadcaster Tim Hubbard His presentation on the Great Gardens of Cornwall, many of which we will have visited will be followed by a Q&A session with him. We’ll gather for a cream tea in Solomon Browne Hall with some local gardeners joining us, this will be a special afternoon.
Day 8: Return to London
This morning we say goodbye to Cornwall and travel back to London by train. The train journey from Penzance to London Paddington is one of Britain's most scenic rail routes, taking you through the west of England and the heart of Cornwall on what's known as the Great Western Main Line. As you get closer to London, you'll see the landscape gradually become more urban, with Reading and Slough marking your approach to the capital before arriving at the magnificent Victorian architecture of Paddington Station.
Settle in at the hotel and enjoy free time this afternoon and evening.
Chelsea Flower Show
