The Lost Gardens of Heligan are the gardens of an estate that was basically deserted after the 100 gardeners employed by the family joined up to fight in WW1. Two thirds of them were killed, and the owner of the estate couldn't bear to return, so gave the house over to be a war hospital, and the gardens were fenced off and forgotten. Tim "rediscovered" the gardens and set about restoring them, and it now has, he believes, the best collection of heirloom vegetables in Europe.
Both of these projects are visited by huge numbers of visitors each year.
Tim made some really interesting points during the interview, and I felt we could learn quite a bit from him to really improve the customer experience for our customers.
What he really wanted to do in these gardens was create a sense of place, some respite from the background noise of the world outside.
He's proudest of the fact that over 400 people have wanted to have their ashes scattered at Heligan, people really feel it is important to them, that it is "their place". He loves meeting people that think of it as their own.
He has discovered that the things that move us are not the huge things in life but the details. For example the way the onions are tied up in a pleasing way, or that someone has chosen cups in the café that are nice to drink out of. The quality of the bamboo binding on the handrails is really important to people. He knows because they write to him about it! We can relate to that too, and really learn from that. What little things, thoughtful things, do we do already, and what can we do more of? Those little things is what people will cherish about our library service.
The gardens now employ more gardeners than were employed during the garden's heyday. He realises this is very "un-hip" but they have found that visitors have a better experience, the more gardeners they have, as there are more people to talk to and engage with while they are visiting. Interesting! Visitors want to engage with staff and, enrich their experience by talking to and learning from the staff. I believe it's about forming a connection with the place and the people that work there, and ties back in with that sense of ownership. I get the same vibe here at Unley. Lovely!
The workers have a real sense of ownership of the place too. Tim believes that "most of us are happiest in good company around a kitchen table" and that too often, people look for more organised ways of being happy, instead of just keeping it simple. Conviviality in the workplace is important to him. Me too!
In the interview he was quite coy about sharing the details of what they do to create a positive culture for staff, but he did disclose that they close for a few days every year and all get together. Apparently they all have to read books that they wouldn't normally read, and review them. He says we all need "mountain streams of fresh information rather than the tired old crops we have been feeding on for a long time" and that we can't move on if we hang on to the old views that we've held for a long time. True! Hard to face sometimes, but true.
If you would like to listen to the interview, please find it here: http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/conversations-tim-smit/8365632
More information about the Lost Gardens of Heligan and the Eden Project
Love this Louise! thank you
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