Gardens that inspire - Cotehele

Many moons ago, when my boys were still wee and Botanical Tales was a seedling of an idea, I visited Cotehele to sing carols under the incredible dried flower garland. This year, I returned.

Cotehele is a National Trust property, near Saltash in Cornwall. It describes itself as “an atmospheric house with medieval roots” and features a mill on a historic quay as well as large gardens to wander through. The property and grounds are themselves worth a visit but in December, there is another reason to come. Each year, since the 1950’s, the hall has been decorated with the most beautiful dried flower garlands. These garlands are like no other I have ever seen, the sheer number of flowers used to create them is mind boggling. The garland has grown over time, with the first being made simply of pittosporum, reminiscent of the decorative greenery and kissing boughs that the Tudors used to bring the outside in to their homes during the Winter. Now, pittosporum is still used as the base of the garlands, with the addition of hundreds and thousands of dried flowers added in.