Sadly Carwinion House and Bamboo Garden closed to the public in the summer of 2013.
The house at Carwinion was built in the late 18th century, but the gardens were developed much later. It is believed that this may have happened in conjunction with several other neighbouring properties. Expeditions were financed by groups of friends and relatives and exotic plants were imported to the Cornish gardens.
The long narrow valley, in which this garden flourishes, contains several ponds and a lovely collection of trees and shrubs including eucryphias, camellias and rhododendrons. Since the nineteen eighties, the garden has been particularly well-known for the large collection of various species of bamboo. The clumps of this plant have been made into a particular feature and are distributed all around the garden.
Many of the plants growing in the garden, including some species of bamboo, can be purchased at the nursery. This was formerly the Camellia and Hydrangea Nursery in Porthtowan. A Fern Garden lies in the quarry on the east side of the valley and many large leafed sub-tropical plants abound in the valley which runs down towards the Helford River. As a contrast, there is an area containing some rare and lovely wood anemones.
The garden is close to the village of Mawnan Smith and belongs to the National Trust and the Rogers family, who continue to manage the estate and gardens. It is open every day
