Creating Pine Lodge Gardens
The Story so far . . . .
Pine Lodge was acquired by Raymond and Shirley Clemo in 1976. At this time, they had no intention whatsoever of developing the property into gardens which would be of a quality suitable for public viewing.
Ray had retired from business as a buyer at Covent Garden and a fruit and vegetable wholesaler and retailer in Cornwall - he often refers to the fact that there have been two gardens in his life, Covent Garden and Pine Lodge Gardens - and it was purely by accident that he and Shirley became serious about creating a reputable garden.
Ray had agreed in 1985 that the local Lions Club could use the Gardens for an Open Day to raise funds for Lions' charities and, even at that very early stage of development, it was a resounding success with over 2,000 people attending. They were then inundated with requests by fund raisers to be able to use the Gardens and, once a month, this took place. Over £100,000 has since been raised for charities.
The Gardens, being situated on the warm and sheltered south coast of St.Austell Bay, in Cornwall, provide excellent growing conditions for rare, unusual and tender plants. Many have been grown from seed from plant hunting expeditions all over the world to which Shirley has been contributing since 1985.
Their collection now stands at over 6,000 plants, all labelled, in over 30 acres of gardens, and it is being added to each year. Shirley is extremely interested and involved in cultivating as many rare plants as possible for added interest in the Gardens and for sale in the Nursery.
Planting in the Gardens has been very carefully planned to provide interest throughout the year. The Gardens are regarded as having several dimensions, not least of which is scent, and this becomes apparent during your visit.