Antony Gardens

Our next home and garden was Antony, an 18th century estate that stands on a neck of Cornwall stretching between the Tamar and Lynher rivers as they empty into the Channel. (We took the Tamar bridge after Plymouth; the long way). The land has been owned since the 15th century by the Carew family, and their descendents, the Pole-Carews and the Carew Poles. (Obviously I am not making that up). At Antony, anyhow, we had the opportunity to go on a tour of the estate's mostly contemporary sculpture. The tour was led by one of the gardeners, and we have since vowed not to miss any more garden tours. It was superb. And mostly about the gardens and forest, trees and shrubs and flowers, since they outnumber the sculptures by a wide margin.

Antony, main house

Part of the formal gardens; the cone-shaped thing on the
ground is sculpture; it mimics the large shrubs; note the
tea-cup shaped topiary on the left; it was so done for the
Disney Alice in Wonderland movie that was in part filmed
at Antony

Huge cone with park bench within; the lady
of the house in olden days (either a Carew-Pole
or a Pole-Carew) would sit there and watch
the matches going on at the tennis court
opposite the garden (no longer there; I guess
the National Trust doesn't do tennis courts)

Wonderful giant cork oak tree

Thus; may 6-8 feet in diameter; many wine
bottles' worth

Wisteria arbor

Not sculpture; a chess piece from Alice in
Wonderland

Down by the shore of the Lynher River (estuary), looking
at another great house across the way

Green Man sculpture; nice placement

Looking past a Sequoia to some giant rhubarbs

Back at the estate, a Magnolia Grandiflora that
obviously has been there a few centuries

Nearby, a beautiful little parish church