»
appalled. What that taught me was that storytelling
is everything. If you can create a narrative that people
want to be part of, you can do almost anything. And
that was how Eden was.”
When Tim moved to Cornwall in 1987, with his
then-wife Candy and their children, it was as a different
kind of storyteller – he was a successful songwriter and
wanted to set up a recording studio. Three years later,
he was invited to see the derelict gardens of the Heligan
Estate, ancestral home of the Tremayne family, by John
Willis, a descendant of the family who knew about
Tim’s interest in archaeology. Heligan’s hundreds of
acres had once been one of the finest botanical gardens
in England, but fell to the brambles when its workforce
left to fight in the First World War, many of their names
are still visible, written in pencil on one of the garden’s
walls. Thanks to Tim and John, this romantic paradise
has been brought back to life.Tim became enthralled by the buccaneering tales
of Heligan’s Victorian plant-hunters, such as Robert
Fortune, who brought the Chusan Palm back from
the Yangtze, fought brigands, suffered dreadful illness
and finally died in a swamp, shooting duck. Such
adventures pulled Tim – who had skipped sciences
at school – to delve into the science and history behind
Heligan’s treasures. Through their eyes he came to
understand that the natural world was an integrated
whole. “By the 1860s, my favourite phrase, ‘natural
philosophy’, had died. But it meant the study and
understanding of everything together.”
One reason why he loved collecting stamps was
the exotic tale that each one held. Similarly, the stories
that plants tell – the commonality of their use across
all cultures – link us to them. They create awareness
that we are all part of nature, not apart from it. We’re
PHOTOGRAPHY: EDEN PROJECT stewards of our own future.
»appalled.Whatthattaughtmewasthatstorytelling
iseverything.Ifyoucancreatea narrativethatpeople
wanttobepartof,youcandoalmostanything.And
thatwashowEdenwas.”
WhenTimmovedtoCornwallin1987,withhis
then-wifeCandyandtheirchildren,it wasasa different
kindofstoryteller–hewasa successfulsongwriterand
wantedtosetupa recordingstudio.Threeyearslater,
hewasinvitedtoseethederelictgardensoftheHeligan
Estate,ancestralhomeoftheTremaynefamily,byJohn
Willis,a descendantofthefamilywhoknewabout
Tim’sinterestinarchaeology.Heligan’s hundreds of
acres had once been one of the finest botanical gardens
in England, but fell to the brambles when its workforce
left to fight in the First World War, many of their names
are still visible, written in pencil on one of the garden’s
walls. Thanks to Tim and John, this romantic paradise
has been brought back to life.Tim became enthralled by the buccaneering tales
of Heligan’s Victorian plant-hunters, such as Robert
Fortune, who brought the Chusan Palm back from
the Yangtze, fought brigands, suffered dreadful illness
and finally died in a swamp, shooting duck. Such
adventures pulled Tim – who had skipped sciences
at school – to delve into the science and history behind
Heligan’s treasures. Through their eyes he came to
understand that the natural world was an integrated
whole. “By the 1860s, my favourite phrase, ‘natural
philosophy’, had died. But it meant the study and
understanding of everything together.”
One reason why he loved collecting stamps was
the exotic tale that each one held. Similarly, the stories
that plants tell – the commonality of their use across
all cultures – link us to them. They create awareness
that we are all part of nature, not apart from it. We’re
PHOTOGRAPHY: EDEN PROJECT stewards of our own future.