Antony Woodland Garden

Antony Woodland Garden is one of the most beautiful, and least known about, gardens in Cornwall. Just a ferry ride away from Plymouth it is a haven of serenity and peace, and the perfect place for a pleasant walk, a picnic, for children to explore and also for plantsmen (and women) to enjoy the magnificent variety of plants. The garden is home to over six hundred different varieties of camellias all growing in an idyllic setting. They range from the graceful species Camellia tsaii to varieties of Camellia sasanqua, saluenensis, williamsii, reticulata and japonica. It is an “International Camellia Garden of Excellence”, one of only four in this country, and holds the National Collection of Camellia japonica.

There is also a wonderful collection of nearly two hundred and fifty different types of magnolias and a good many other ornamental woody plants including hydrangeas and rhododendrons. During the spring the extensive glades and walks of the garden are covered with drifts of wild flowers; celandines, primroses, bluebells, campion and garlic, as well as some rarer plants that flourish in these conditions. Wild bird life also feeds on the rich mud flats of the Lynher River and throughout the year, oystercatchers, grey herons, egrets, cormorants and shelducks can be seen. Kingfishers at the Bath House pond, dart across the surface of the water whilst mullet swim beneath. Buzzards and kestrels are commonly seen hovering overhead.