CORNISH EDENS

You notice a difference when you cross the border into Cornwall. The language is unfamiliar – Kernow a’gas dynergh (welcome to Cornwall) greets you – the lanes become narrower, and the jam goes first on your scone in a cream tea.

More than anything, though, it’s the plants that make a difference. Summer hedgerows and verges are full of searing orange crocosmia blooms, scarlet poppies and brilliant yellow coconut-scented gorse. In the far west and on the Isles of Scilly exotics flourish, such as the South African king protea(Protea cynaroides),hugedatepalms fromtheCanaries(Phoenix canariensis) and the bird of paradise plant (Strelitzia reginae). While the north coast – with its rugged cliff coastline – is often battered by gales, the south coast’s sheltered river valleys are home to tree ferns from New Zealand(Dicksonia antarctica),delicate camellias and towering magnolias.

Here, in the far