August
Parliament may be on summer recess but Tregothnan recently had a summer visit from Hilary Benn the Secretary of State for the environment where he viewed the tea plantation and the manuka honey hives.

For further details of his visit please click here.

Grow your own drugs
James Wong the presenter of the popular BBC2 series came and filmed on the estate and was very keen to use the Pepperleaf we grow.

Look out for his new series in the Autumn.

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July
2010 Charity Open Garden Weekend
Tickets for the 2010 event now on sale, numbers may be limited to ensure the UKs largest garden opening is a pleasant experience.

10th and 11th April 2010 promises to be the biggest gardening weekend of the year when Cornwall stages two of the finest horticultural events in the UK. Tregothnan is on track to be the UKs largest garden opening, raising over £30,000 for charity in 2009, as Cornwall Largest Garden opening.

All proceeds from the weekend go to Charity, our nominated Charity is:

Precious Lives appeal for the Childrens Hospice southwest.

To buy tickets in advance please click here


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June
Royal Cornwall Show
Hard on the heels of Chelsea, the Royal Cornwall show proved to be both busy and enjoyable and an ideal opportunity to meet up with new & existing clients, friends and suppliers. With good weather and record attendance Tregothnan provided a Cream Tea and a welcome place to meet.

Oxo Tower
The garden from the award winning Tregothnan Estate in Cornwall, has transformed the OXO Tower’s famous eighth floor terraces into a 'Garden in the sky' from 23 May until early July.

The Tregothnan team have taken inspiration from newsworthy issues and have over the six week installation period, focus on three different ‘Firsts’:

The first manuka honey from the UK,
The first English tea grown in England and
The first breeding Australian Dinosaur trees outside Australia.

Visitors to the Oxo tower can enjoy either a menu inspired by Tregothnan or an English tea or infusion.

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May
Chelsea Flower Show
Tregothnan experienced a very busy show, enjoying an amazing amount of publicity with our Manuka honey & English Tea. Interest from the media was intense with live radio interviews with BBC Radio 2 and 4, all major national newspapers and New Zealand television.

ITV screened a feature on Tregothnan Tea in their new series 'Countrywise'. Filmed earlier in the year interviewer Rachel de Thame enjoyed a cream tea with Jonathon Jones our Garden director in the Victorian Summer House.

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March
Open Garden Weekend
Tregothnan opened its garden for Charity over the weekend of the 21st & 22nd of March. A combination of fantastic Spring weather, Mothers day and regional television ensured the weekend was a massive success. Described in the media as the ‘UK's largest Garden Opening’, this years nominated charity, 'Seafarers' benefitted from a large increase in visitor numbers.

Garden highlights included some of the tallest Rhododendrons in the world, likened to mountains - with avalanches of colour, all having escaped the winter weather that hit many Devon gardens.

A low fly past from a Culdrose based search and rescue helicopter added excitement to the North Front of Tregothnan whilst lunch & Cream Teas, Estate craft stalls and shop made Saturday and Sunday a memorable experience for all visitors.

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February
The One Show
Carol Thatcher entertained us with a visit to Tregothnan and famously enjoyed Tregothnan tea on her last BBC One Show. Each sachet of Tregothnan tea has a message for times like this: ‘There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a good cup of tea’.

Blog
The Tregothnan Garden Blog is now live - snow updates from the garden; Tregothnan preparations for the Chelsea Flower Show; Travels in South Africa and Kirstenbosch and much more.

Tea - the credit crunch lunch
Reports are appearing of tea, served as an early 'afternoon tea' being enjoyed as a 'credit crunch lunch'. Tea, not only a healthy start to 2009, also offers a fashionable way to meet at the smartest establishments for superb value.

According to The Guardian, Donna Lewington, who runs the Highdown Tea Rooms in Worthing, West Sussex, said business this year was up by as much as 30% on 2007. "We are finding that a lot of people are getting fed up with national chains of coffee houses," she said. "They realise that a pot of tea and a scone the size of a dinner plate is better value for money than a grande latte and pre-packaged food."

The custom of taking afternoon tea is thought to have been created by a Duchess of Bedford in the 18th century. It is believed the duchess used to complain of a "sinking feeling" in late afternoon, so would have a pot of tea and a snack. She began inviting her friends to join her between 3pm and 5pm.

Andy Price, who owns the Print Room tearoom in Bournemouth, said his sales had increased by 50% in the last six months. "We have seen a huge increase in popularity of afternoon tea amongst certain groups of people," he said. "I think that it has a retro appeal to younger generations looking for a bit of escapism from their hectic lives."

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