Seeds gathered at Cornish gardens

The trust uses seeds from native seeds to sustain local forests

Hundreds of people have taken part in a seed-gathering weekend at two National Trust properties in Cornwall.

The trust said warm sunny weather helped draw families to Glendurgan Gardens at Mawnan Smith, near Falmouth and Trelissick at Feock, near Truro.

Both gardens have mature trees of seed-bearing age and people were encouraged to search for seeds to take home or leave for gardeners to sow.

Staff offered germination tips and information on how to identify seeds.

More than 400 people took part in the seed-gathering at Glendurgan on Saturday, with an estimated 600 to 800 at Trelissick on Sunday.

The giant busy-lizzie exploding cases certainly take you by surprise Jon O'Donoghue, National Trust

"It's been amazing and the weather has been absolutely glorious and warm," a trust spokesman told BBC News.

Visitor services manager Jon O'Donoghue said there was a huge variety of seeds to look for.

"It never ceases to amaze me how many different forms fruits and seeds can take," he said.

"The magnolia seed pods are like something from Mars and the giant busy-lizzie exploding cases certainly take you by surprise.

"It's important to sustain local forests with seeds from native trees and also fun to explore new plants through their weird and wonderful autumn seeds and fruits."