Robert & Stella Hore had the idea for their Japanese Garden after being given a bonsai tree as a present. They began construction of the garden in ernest in 1991 on the site of a run down small holding in St Mawgan. With the help of a digger and some huge moss covered granite boulder the garden was landscaped to include ponds, a waterfall, bridge and a Japanese tea house (orCha-Seki).
The garden opened to the public in the summer of 1997 but this was really just a beginning - the garden is a living art form that needs to be nurtured and shaped. In some respects it will never be truly completed, but as in the Zen philosophy the focus is on the way of attaining perfection not the state of perfection itself.
Whilst not being 100% orthodox in it's design, the garden itself is pretty authentic in style and has met with the approval of Japanese visitors over the years. It contains many of the features associated with a Japanese garden including the shishi-odoshi (deer scarer), stone lanterns, tsukubai (water basin), bonsai and of course, the waterfalls, ponds, bridges, islands and teahouse. There is also a traditional Zen garden of tranquility where there are no plants just meticulously positioned rocks and sand which is raked everyday.
As the name suggests there is also a bonsai nursery where trees have been cultivated in the open ground since 1986, in addition to the stock of bonsai imported from Japan, China and Korea. Robert Hore has been working with bonsai for 30 years and the nursery currently holds over twenty thousand trees including a wide selection of indoor and outdoor varieties. Most are available for purchase although a few are housed apart in a special display.
Open All Year: Seven Days a Week 10am to 6pm (5.30pm winter) Closed Xmas Day to New Years Day
