Tresco Abbey Gardens Plants

If led blindfold into the garden you would be hard pressed to tell which region of the world you were in.

Plant life from all corners of the globe thrives in this maritime position, thirty miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. The top terrace with its sea views and open, sunny-aspect, is home to many plants from the dry regions of Australia and South Africa. Summer breezes and salty winter gales alike push through the foliage of Protea , Leucadendron , Aloe, Banksia , Callistemon , Dryandra and Cape heaths.

Moving lower down on to the more protected slopes into the middle terrace we move into an altogether different plant grouping. Date palms, Echium, Aeoniums, Strelitzia, the South African "Bird of Paradise" all jostle for position with Passiflora, Agave and Puya , pollinated by colourful humming birds from the mountain slopes of Chile.

Shadier parts of the garden at the base of the hillside reveal statuesque tree ferns from New Zealand, and alongside grow towering Eucalyptus and symmetrical Auraucaria excelsa, "The Norfolk Island Pine".

At any time of the year the flowering capacity of the garden is on overdrive. The summer months reveal a mixture of colour from Mesembryanthemum, Pelargonium and Watsonia suffused with individual highlights such as Furcraea, Metrosideros and Abutilon.

The word winter does not really exist on Tresco, we prefer extended autumn with flowering periods. Throughout November, December and January the Proteas, Aloes and Tree Heaths are at their exotic best with flowering Camellias being thrown in for good measure.