Trevince Event

Trevince launches Pollinator Pathmaker garden with official opening by artist

Trevince – the country estate in Gwennap, at the heart of Cornwall’s historic mining district – is launching a Pollinator Pathmaker garden on Friday 26 June at 10.30am when Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, the artist who conceived the concept, will cut a ribbon to declare it officially open for visitors of all kinds to enjoy throughout the season.

Pollinator Pathmaker is not only a living sculpture made from plants. It is also an artwork for pollinators, planted and cared for by people. Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg has created a custom algorithm that designs planting for pollinators’ tastes, not humans.

With pollinators in decline, the artwork encourages empathy for other species and empowers people to be caretakers of nature, rather than consumers. Planting schemes are created by selecting plants that are suited to the specific conditions of a site and are then optimised by the algorithm to provide pollen and nectar for the greatest number of local pollinators possible.

At Trevince, the pollinator-centric garden was planted in February and is now reaching peak perfection for insects such as hoverflies, moths, butterflies, wasps and flies, as well as many species of bees, all of which form the basis of a thriving garden.

“This project sets out to design a planting as a pollinator might have planned it and I love that idea,” said Head Gardener, Colin Skelly. “We can and do plant with pollinators in mind, but this planting takes it to a new level. Insect pollinators often see entirely different colours to those that we see. Their eyes sense different parts of the colour spectrum, including ultraviolet light. This reveals markings on flowers that are invisible to us, guiding them to the prized pollen and nectar.”

Trevince Gardens are open on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays until 27 September, from 10am to 4pm. The Cart Shed Café offers tasty home-made treats, using abundant produce from the Walled Garden. Dogs on leads are welcome.