Tresco Abbey and Gardens. The garden was planted by Augustus Smith and has been beautifully maintained and extended by his descendants. The current owners, the Dorien Smiths who live in Tresco Abbey have complete control of this small 2 mile long island under a very long lease from the Crown. The plants which include Agaves, Aloes, Proteas and Acacias, are largely from the Southern Hemisphere. They flourish in the mild climate of the Scilly Isles and and Tresco gardens has been described as "like Kew gardens with the lid off". The museum Valhalla of ships figureheads is of great interest and strangely sad because of the large numbers of sailors who perished in these hostile waters. Expensive and painless to get to by helicopter or time consuming but reasonable by boat a visit is a must sometime. For travel links see separate pages on The Scilly Isles
