Possibly the oldest building in the garden, dating back to 1770, apart from stone pediment on top which is new (1997). 

Complimented by an ornamental pool and stunning views across the bay.

As well as a sheltered area for growing cut flowers, another important purpose was for the production of tender annual and perennial vegetables, herbs and top fruit including pears, cherries and apples.

A collection of glasshouses on the south wall date to 1840s, with some used for tropical fruit and citrus, with the original houses once home to figs and vines.

A sign of the times, Pineapple growing was very popular between 1770 and 1850.

In order to grow pineapples successfully, decomposing manure was used as a source of heat. The naturally organic process of manure breaking down created heat as a by-product which was then trapped in the walls of the long pit which in turn heated the adjacent greenhouses. Pit temperature could reach over 120 degrees!

A single-roomed shed adjacent to the potting shed.

One of the four small interconnected ponds which drop down through the Jungle.  Here, the garden changes dramatically as one leaves the traditional symmetry of the productive gardens and the controlled extravagance of the herbaceous gardens.

Here, there be monsters...or rather, the largest collection of tree ferns in Britain.

The planting is lush, the sense of centuries almost touchable.  The thread of a timber boardwalk weaves through the arching giants of Dicksonia antartica, bearing brief glimpses of bananas, bamboos and myriad other tropical trees and plants.

One of two larger than life sculptures artistically crafted from organic material in the Woodland Walk, part of the shelterbelt area.

A truly magical view...

A place for quiet contemplation and home to one of the first Kiwi fruit plants brought into England, which is capable of growing 2 inches per day!

This long network of rides passes along the Lost Valley, lined by Oak, Beech and Chestnut. Many of the original tree plantings still remain like the majestic oak in the middle of the picture.