From early 2022-2024, I worked with National Trust Trengwainton Garden to research the colonial histories of the site at Trengwainton, and of horticulture in Cornwall more generally, and its connections with the wider world through the acquisition and movement of plants.
Garden spaces present particular challenges for offering historic interpretation, particularly where they are not accompanied by exhibition space (as is the case at Trengwainton). The early nineteenth century garden there was founded on wealth accumulated through enslavement of people in Jamaican plantations by Sir Rose Price. In the early twentieth century, the rhododendrons, camellias and other planting was enabled through plant collection in Asia by Frank Kingdon-Ward; while the latter is not comparable to the earlier history, the practices of plant collecting at that time, enabled by colonialism, lacked regulation or acknowledgement of local expertise and custom. The absence of these histories at site has been a matter of contention.
‘A performance allows you to ask a question, rather than just being given information’. (Audience Member)
Our project trialled methods of interpretation that, while temporary, invited public discussion about these aspects of the garden. These included a map of plant connections and a performance by Small Acts (Katie Etheridge and Simon Persighetti) with Maria Christoforidou and Amy Lawrence, entitled Plant Navigations (Sept 2023). As a researcher, I put together ‘stories’ that I gave to the performance artists, some of which were woven into both artworks, alongside their own research and writing. These included, for example, the story of Flushing-based amateur botanist Elizabeth Warren receiving some of the first specimens of tea plants from Assam Province by then British governor Francis Jenkins, a Cornishman. Another story told of a sheep farm, ‘The Other Trelissick’, established by the Enys brothers as early European settlers in Castle Hill (Kura Tawhiti), New Zealand, where they were visited by botanical illustrator Marianne North. The Cornish Lobb brothers and their plant collection for Veitch & Co were also subjects. I have written about the project for the National Trust Cultural Heritage Magazine here
‘It was moving, stimulating and enjoyable. Really enjoyed the way this was presented. It felt like an invitation, to close your eyes, listen, and then you were invited to look’. (Audience member)
Video of Plant Navigations by Barbara Santi, on Vimeo – click the image. The video is also available via Small Acts’ webpage.
This site-specific performance drew on the particular qualities of a garden space to open up the possibility for a meditation on colonial and plant histories, inviting an audience’s thoughtful response, self-questioning, and dialogue. The idea that the performance and garden offered a ‘safe space’ was reiterated by a number of audience members. They also suggested that the performance gave them new ways to appreciate both garden and plants in general. While the performance itself was ephemeral, it has produced a range of documents and a script that we hope to adapt for a recorded intervention, having proved its accessibility, albeit to a limited audience.
The project highlighted the potential for engaging audiences with these histories and informed the National Trust’s revised guidelines for research collaboration. Our Wardian Case, custom made for the performance, has been displayed at Tyntesfield National Trust, as part of an exhibition ‘Tangled routes: plants, trade and time at Tyntesfield’ (June-Aug 2025).
One piece of information I’m going away knowing is the ability that plants have to grow and cultivate our experiences just as we cultivate theirs. Acknowledging the origin of such beauty and its paradoxical aesthetic value made me more deeply appreciative of the plants and the complex story that brought them here (Audience Member)
The work was initially supported through the GW4 network ‘Colonial Connections’ (academic lead Nicola Thomas) and subsequently through National Trust seed grant funding and an AHRC Impact Accelerator Award (‘Creative Invention’).