Bosahan Garden

Close to the Helford River, Bosahan serves-up horticultural bliss with a breathtaking view to the estuary and sea.

Bosahan has its own microclimate, enabling a fusion of tender plants from both hemispheres to flourish in the moist shelter. Radiant rows of rhododendrons and azaleas are mixed with the likes of magnolias and southern hemisphere tree and shrub species. The exotic palm groves and mature Maidenhair trees have made a lush canopy under which to explore the 'sub-tropical' environment. Bosahan is blessed with a meandering stream trickling through the centre, creating a wonderful garden for walkers to follow a trail along the fern-edged banks and palm-fringed pond.

This is an intriguing historical garden in which the Gryll's family built a mansion in the early 19th Century, but many secrets of its past have been lost along with its records that haven't survived. Evidence suggests that the mature trees in the protected valley to the south of the house were most probably planted by the Gryll's family, and the development of the earliest planting lay in the hands of Arthur Pendarves Vivian, a keen plantsman who took over the estate in 1885.

Described as 'the most Cornish of all Cornish gardens' in the Gardener magazine in 1909, this paradise valley may have grown into a more exotic patch since, and evidence of its distinct and striking Cornish roots make it still worthy of a celebrated reputation to this day.