About Us

The Cornwall Garden Society is a charitable company with the following objectives:-

  • the encouragement and improvement of the science, art and practice of horticulture in all its branches
  • the promotion of knowledge and education in good gardening principles and in the national heritage of gardens in Cornwall
  • to promote, conserve and protect the national environment in Cornwall

In order to meet the objectives the society holds regular lectures and visits to gardens and shows within the county and beyond.

Our Patron is the HRH Prince of Wales.

A newsletter is circulated to members in December, March, June and September and a Programme Booklet is provided that gives details of the social programme in the current year.

The Society is affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society.

The Society is served by a Board of Trustess and a Managing Committee drawn from the Trustees and others who run the Society’s activites. The Society has over 1400 members many of whom participate in some way or another in the Society’s activities.

WHO WE ARE

A society for Horticulture in Cornwall has been in existence in one form or another since 1832, for on 18th May of that year the inaugural meeting of ‘Royal Horticultural Society of Cornwall’ was held, supported by the patronage of King William IV , who was graciously pleased to place the sum of £10.10s.0d (ten guineas) annually at their disposal.

The primary function was to hold two or three exhibitions of fruit, flowers and vegetables each year, bringing the beauty of their large gardens and estates to the public notice, transport being almost non-existent compared with today. This Society existed until around 1856 when records faded out.

Although there is no tangible recorded connection between then and now, the same concept and ideas re-emerged, in 1897 when an advert appeared on March 4th in the Cornwall Gazette to the effect that  ‘A Daffodil and Spring Flower Show’ was to be held in the Truro Concert Hall on 30th & 31st March. Thus the showing off of Cornwall’s proud heritage of horticulture began again and continues to this day. The group that organised those early Shows were mainly made up of the owners of large garden and estates; their support still holds good for many still ‘Show off’ their flowers, foliage and techniques annually but now alongside those of other smaller gardeners.

Up until the 1950’s, under a banner of the ‘Spring Flower Show Society’ they continued to organise Shows annually with breaks only for the two world wars, petrol rationing or severe cold weather. Realising that interest in flowers, gardening and all things horticultural was increasing rapidly, this Society reconstituted itself into the Cornwall Garden Society formally in 1958 with much broader interests, designed to spread the love and knowledge of gardens and gardening to a much wider audience through lectures, workshops and garden visits.

The annual ‘Cornwall Spring Flower Show’, now approaching its 100th Show, is still one of our main stay activities. Activities are  year round, covering the whole of the county from Lands End to Bude and Saltash with some 12 – 14 lectures at a variety of venues over the winter period, inviting nationally based and well known speakers; in the summer a number of Walk and Talk visits to local gardens across the county, usually two in a day; workshops on specific gardening tasks and day long coach visits to renowned gardens outside the county and beyond. Also 1 or 2 short-breaks and longer visits to the likes of Chelsea Flower Show and gardens across the country and even overseas; not to mention providing some support to young professional gardeners of Cornwall.