Following a weekend of sunshine and showers in the Westcountry, spring officially arrived in Cornwall on Monday this week (24th February 2025).
An exciting arrival in the Cornish and wider British botanical calendar, the date was formally declared by The Nare Hotel, together with The Great Gardens of Cornwall, as part of Cornwall’s Spring Story. The moment is marked when 50 Magnolia campbellii have flowered across six of the Great Gardens of Cornwall, meaning that spring has arrived in England.
Cornwall’s Spring Story was founded by Toby Ashworth, proprietor of The Nare, in partnership with the Great Gardens of Cornwall in 2012. Now in its 13th year, the annual celebration ensures garden lovers, locals and guests of the county enjoy the splendid sight of the early spring Magnolia campbellii. This year, the declaration was made at Trewithen Estate, home of the champion Magnolia with Sam Galsworthy, owner of Trewithen Estate and current High Sheriff of Cornwall.
Thanks to the Gulf Stream, the county’s naturally mild, sub-tropical climate ensures that Cornwall sees the first signs of spring much earlier than the rest of the country. Each year, the first botanical day of spring is declared when 50 blooms have flowered on a champion Magnolia campbellii tree at six of the Great Gardens of Cornwall, offering a striking display and hopeful sign that spring is on its way to the rest of the UK.
The six champion Magnolia campbellii trees are located within Cornwall’s Great Gardens of Tregothnan, Caerhays, Trebah, Trewidden, Trewithen, and The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Every year, each head gardener closely monitors the buds of each tree. Once all six prized Magnolia trees have bloomed with at least 50 buds, this signals the start of spring.
Mr Ashworth commented: “Yet again, we are delighted to declare the arrival of spring in Cornwall in February. Over the last 13 years we have observed this pattern, with the Magnolia campbellii consistently flowering between Valentine’s Day and the first week in March. I am also told by our reliable sources at Tremap that the Cornish Magnolias are flowering earlier than their cousins in the Himalayas.”
Jonathon Jones OBE, Managing Director of Tregothnan and Founder of Tremap adds: “We can happily confirm that Cornwall has beaten India to declare spring! The audit of all campbellii is ongoing and we are surprised (or rather, alarmed) at how scarce they appear to be. Cornwall’s Spring Story is helpful to raise awareness and find magnolia spotters across the northern hemisphere.”
To learn more about Cornwall’s Spring Story, please visit:
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