Pencarrow House And Garden Cornwall hotels:

A Georgian house that is still occupied by the owners. It houses a fine collection of paintings, furniture and porcelain. Surrounded by formal and woodland gardens with over 700 species of rhododenrons. This is the home of the Molesworth-St Aubyn's and definitely a lived-in house, not a museum! You will see all the things the family loves best, including their photos, hats on the classical statues and the grandchildren's toys left around - just like your home! The smell of lunch being prepared wafts through from the private quarters, making you anticipate with pleasure your imminent visit to the tearooms for your own meal. Jackson and Sambo, the family pet dogs, love to welcome visitors too and often join in the guided tour! The 50 acres of gardens include the Italian Gardens, lovely lawns with magnificent specimen trees, woodland walks and lots of flowering plants and shrubs. In Spring the Gardens and mile-long carriage drive are ablaze with camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas, as well as primroses and daffodils, closely followed by a haze of bluebells in May. Later on the blue hydrangeas are a magnificent sight all around the gardens and lake. Did you know that the monkey puzzle tree got its name here? Charles Austin, a parliamentary lawyer, stayed here in 1834 and when he saw the 'Araucaria imbricata' he said, "That tree would puzzle a monkey," and the name stuck! There are no restrictions on where you can walk - and you CAN walk on the grass. Children love to roll down the grassy slopes of the Italian Garden and of course there are lots of peacocks around - see them displaying in April and May. We have a team of just 3 looking after all this - they do a grand job! Gavin, the Head Gardener, takes his own cuttings and propagates many of the plants which are on sale in the PLANT SHOP. So, if you see something you like in the Gardens, you may well be able to take it home with you - the plant you have bought that is, not the whole bush!