Gardeners at Cotehele have counted almost 30,000 dried flowers for their annual Christmas Garland. Staff and volunteers at the National Trust place near Saltash in Cornwall, are now about to start the process of creating this year’s garland – a festive tradition at Cotehele since 1956. This year is even more significant for the property, with it being the 20th garland overseen by Head Gardener Dave Bouch.
Back in 2004 when Dave Bouch first joined as Head Gardener at Cotehele, the garland was built by a team of 3 people and loved by locals. The team has now grown to include a dedicated Garland gardener, supported by a team of committed volunteers, and the garland is visited by around 30,000 people every year.
Dave comments ‘Over the last twenty years, my highlight is really seeing visitors return every Christmas and watching their families grow, with the garland becoming part of their Christmas family tradition as well as ours.’
While the Garland is a Christmas tradition, it is the culmination of a year of hard work. All the flowers are picked and dried in the garden at Cotehele; seeds were sown in early spring, flower picking began in May, with stripping flowers to bunch and dry taking place over the summer months. Each flower is added by hand to create the stunning 60ft long display, which forms part of Cotehele’s annual Christmas celebrations.
Dave Bouch continues ‘After twelve months of work by the garden team, we are now reaching the final twelve days of creating this year’s garland. This starts by creating a pittosporum base which we then put into position within the hall of the house, before individually placing every single flower to create this year’s amazing display’.
When asked if Dave has a favourite garland from his twenty-year tenure he answered, ‘my favourite is always the one I’ve just done, because it reminds me of that growing year.’
From Monday 11 November, visitors to Cotehele will be able to see how the garland is made. From Saturday 23 November, the completed Cotehele Garland can be seen daily in the Great Hall until Sunday 5 January (closed 25 and 26 December), 10.30am-4pm.
Find out more at Christmas at Cotehele | Cornwall | National Trust
Photo credit: National Trust Images, Mel Peters