By Mattie O’Callaghan, Horticultural Trainee. As part of Mattie’s traineeship, they undertake placements at gardens around the country to learn from the gardening teams there. Recently, Mattie journeyed down to the Scilly Isles for a week at Tresco Abbey Gardens:
I had always known Tresco Island for its lush tropical paradise; a bounty of ferns, explosive flowers and diverse foliage from all over the world. Arriving by plane after two days of waiting for the mist to clear, the skies suddenly burst through into bright sunshine and the islands’ magic was unveiled. I was shocked to learn there were no trees on Tresco in the beginning, just big bare rock and gorse jutting out of the sea. Its island paradise was possible by the creation of a shelter belt. This protection from salt, wind and cold is what makes it possible for all the wonderful plants to grow.
This was created by Augustine Smith, who made this garden around the ruins of a Benedictine Abbey. The Dorrien-Smith family continues to manage the island today, leasing it off the Duchy of Cornwall. Over the years people and plants have made this their home, fascinated by the microclimate which supports a unique ecology for so many to enjoy.
The garden looks like a beautiful jungle which has grown over time, but that time is knitted so tenderly by gardeners’ hands, muddy and wet with passion for this little island. I spent my week with assistant head gardener Jon Taylor and the Tresco Abbey Scholars, Alice Thompson and Holly Doyle who have come to work here for a year. I was also joined by Kew Diploma Student Zoe Smith and gardener, Megan Custon-Cole here to experience the garden for a couple of weeks.
The care and attention ripples far beyond the garden’s walls and Jon Taylor was involved in the complex task of organizing my pick up from the airport by shuttle bus and a boat trip across from St Mary’s to Tresco. With bad weather having delayed my flight for two days, Jon rearranged boat pick up several times! Picking me up he took me to the sea-front cottage I’d be staying in and then showed me around the garden and island. After some difficult and long travels I felt instantly at home with Jon’s warm and generous help and knowledge sharing throughout the week.
I’d been following what was happening at Tresco through the Instagram accounts of Jon, Alice and Holly. Their articles on the Tresco Journal share monthly what’s in bloom from their days working with the soil. In the dark winter days pictures of hot Aloe arborescens flowering and the sunlight pouring through the towering palms has been wonderful. We all know it takes time and work to share and connect, and gardeners are increasingly adding this to their diverse skill set.
This window into the garden had already started a connection between myself, the plants and the gardeners. Alice and I had connected online and upon arrival she invited me for a bracing sea swim with Zoe Smith and Ezra Child who were volunteering in the garden. It was a glorious immersion into freezing cold water but also into a communal act of letting go into all the elements. We went together after work, the cool water soothing our aching muscles after a day of weeding out Allium triquetrum, digging out brambles and deadheading Isoplexis canariensis.
Tresco is extremely elemental and the resilience of both garden and gardeners is extraordinary. All were out cycling to work in strong gales and embracing the rain as much as the sunshine. For although there is a lack of seasonality here, with 267 plants in flower at the start of the new year, the changing weather was felt daily.
Even though the island is small, the richness of plant varieties is boundless and the students did as much as they could to share this with us. Students and trainees are often undervalued in gardens for their unique perspectives and on the ground work they do. By being present all the time in the space, they look after not only the gardens but also the volunteers and visitors.
Passionate horticulturalist Holly has been curating a plant list in her spare time creating a formalized record of what grows. Holly passed that passion onto me during the week, and I became in love with the wild and wonderful species of Erica, Echiums, Aloes, and Proteas. As one of the few places where plants from South Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand can grow successfully outside, Tresco can host a unique space for plant conservation. Holly has planted the seed for connecting with organisations like the International Conifer Conservation Programme, where they will be looking after species such as Phyllocladus trichomanoides, a conifer endemic to New Zealand.
Working with plants I’d never encountered before was challenging, but led by Alice’s attention to detail, we carefully weeded, cut back and deadheaded plants in a way that was naturalistic and rhythmic. Alice has also been creating stunning bouquets for the island with layers of foliage and bright blooms, bringing joy to both holiday makers and locals who work here.
Over coffee breaks, visits to the pub and a pot luck of delicious homemade food, we shared our experiences of gardening professionally. It was inspiring to learn how Alice and Holly have collectively advocated for valuing their work as gardeners by securing minimum wage for their work. If we want to create more beautiful and ecological spaces for all, investing in those who are at the beginning of their careers will ignite a passion and energy for continuing to develop.
There is a lot I have learnt about plants here, but I have also learnt about the often invisible but invaluable work of the everyday gardeners who work here with so much passion and care. Like the trees that were once planted here to protect the garden, the gardeners continue to tend to so many wonderful and wild species as well as the people who come here.
I left with seeds in my pockets, a full stomach, windswept hair, a notebook full of plants, and new gardening friends who I can’t wait to see again.
