Secret Cornish garden with rare flowers to open for two weeks only

Each flower blooms for only one day

15:16, 09 Jun 2026Updated 15:19, 09 Jun 2026

The 18th-century house framed by spring blossom at Antony(Image: National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole)

A secret garden that houses a National Collection of rare flowers has opened its gates in Cornwall for a limited time only.

For a limited flowering season, visitors have access to this unique collection of 600 varieties of Hemerocallis, known commonly as ‘daylilies’ in a walled garden rarely open to the public at Antony, near Torpoint.

The plant collection, amassed by the late Lady Cynthia Carew Pole in the 1960s and ’70s is of national significance. Over 50 years since its inception, the flowers are healthier than ever, benefiting from a milder Cornish climate by the River Lynher.

“We’ve been eagerly watching the daylilies to calculate their flowering dates,” said Dave Bouch, head gardener for the National Trust in the Tamar Valley.

“The plants are in great condition and we predict a bumper year for the flowers. It’ll be an absolute sea of colour in the daylily garden.”

A bee enjoying the scent of a Hemerocallis (daylily) flower(Image: Clare Dearden/National Trust)

Hemerocallis translates to ‘day beauty’ and refers to each flower blooming for just one day. The colourful display will be in bloom for just two short weeks in June.

The collection is housed in a part of Antony’s garden not usually open to the public. For just a few weeks a year the National Trust team, in collaboration with Sir Tremayne Carew Pole of Antony House, invites visitors through the gate to experience the bountiful blooms.

Sir Tremayne, said: “It’s wonderful to see the daylily collection in flower again. It’s a key part of my grandmother’s legacy at Antony and she would be pleased that it brings so much joy to the public every year.”

The daylily collection is open from today (Tuesday, June 9) to Tuesday, June 23. Antony is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 12pm to 5pm. Normal entry to Antony will apply, free for National Trust members.