Tresco Abbey Gardens

A famous sub-tropical in the Scilly Isles, on a romantic island of only 750 acres. It was made by Augustus Smith, between 1834 and 1872, on a wind-blown peninsula which became the site of an Abbey in AD 964. The garden has a walled enclosure, terraces and two great cross-walks with dramatic views. Many of the plants are large and exuberant. One senses that he owned a copy of J C Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Gardening. The design style of the walls, pools, steps etc is Arts and Crafts. The planting design is more William Robinson than Gertrude Jekyll's.