Washed by the tides, open to the winds and with views that reach to the far horizon, Scotland’s island gardens are very special places. From the inner waters of the Firth of Clyde to the rocky cliffs of Orkney and through the mountainous landscapes and low-lying grasslands of the Hebrides, the waters off the coast are studded with gardens, each with its own, unique character.
Some are small and intimate, others wildly expansive, spreading out from the walls of ancient keeps in thickets of shrubbery and noble trees that provide shelter from the gales.
In many of them, native wild flowers grow alongside exotic introductions that only flourish here because of the North Atlantic Drift, which picks up warm waters from the Gulf of Mexico and carries them to these shores.
We’ve compiled a list of 12 of the best of Scotland’s island gardens, some practical spaces, others wildly romantic, and all of them worth a visit during the long days of summer. So why not chart a course and start exploring these horticultural gems?
Ardencraig
Isle of Bute PA20 9EZ
Ardencraig Gardens in Rothesay are home to one of Scotland’s best displays of annual bedding plants. Each year the local authority’s gardeners fill the walled garden with a glorious selection of brightly-coloured flowers, including many different kinds of fuchsias. This masterpiece of Victorian nostalgia is well-executed and very cheerful, even on a dull day.
Open daily 9am - 5pm Admission free
Mount Stuart
Isle of Bute PA20 9LR
The huge gardens at Mount Stuart surround one of the most remarkable great houses in the country, renowned for its elaborate interiors and early 20th century technology. Outside Champion Trees and a Victorian pinetum provide a soaring backdrop to lawns, a vast rock garden and a huge kitchen garden filled with flowers in produce.
The Wee Garden’ is a five acre space filled with southern hemisphere plants and an Edwardian Calvary Garden has recently been restored.
Paths through the trees lead to the beach from where dolphins, otters and even whales have occasionally been sighted.
Open daily 10am - 5pm Tickets ££7.50/free (under 16) www.mountstuart.com
Brodick Castle
Isle of Arran KA27 8HY
The Brodick estate stretches from the shoreline to the peak of Goat Fell and at its heart is almost 80 acres of cultivated spaces, dense shrubberies and woodland.
There has been a castle here for more than 800 years but serious gardening didn’t begin until the 1930s when thousands of plants were shipped to Brodick from the famous garden of Tresco on the Isles of Scilly.
In summer bright blue spikes of Echium dominate the tender planting in the walled garden from where there are expansive views over Brodick Bay, while visitors can follow a Silver Garden Trail and a Plant Hunter’s Walk or simply wander through woodland beneath towering Champion trees.
Open daily 9am - 5pm Tickets £8.50/£7/£6 (under 16)
Achamore Gardens
Isle of Gigha PA41 7AD
Three miles off the west coast of the Mull of Kintyre sits one of Scotland’s most fascinating gardens. Created in the 1940s by Colonel Sir James Horlick, the garden features important collections of plants from Chile, New Zealand and Madeira.
In 2001 ownership of Gigha passed to the islanders under a community buyout and for the next two decades the garden lay mostly untouched while Gigha Heritage Trust turned its efforts to improving the island’s infrastructure. Now however the garden is being energetically restored under the care of new head gardener, Bryony White and a small team who are bringing this sleeping beauty back to life.
Open daily 9am - 5pm. Tickets £7.50/£5 (under 16)
An Cala
Isle of Seil PA34 4RF
A tiny bridge over the Atlantic takes visitors from the mainland of Argyll to the small island of Seil, where An Cala, which was designed by renowned garden specialist Thomas Mawson in the 1930s, has been beautifully restored. In spring the ‘Mt Fuji’ white cherries open along the terrace, followed by azaleas and rhododendrons while perennials and Poulson roses fill the garden with a froth of colour all summer-long.
Open daily 10am - 6pm Tickets £5/free (under 16s)
Canna House Gardens
Isle of Canna PH44 4RS
At just four and a half miles long and one mile wide, Canna is a small island, but it was home to giants of the Gaelic culture, John Lorne Campbell and Margaret Fay Shaw, and their home, Canna House, which they gifted to the National Trust for Scotland, is the only garden where visitors arrive through an Escallonia tunnel. Fruit trees are grown here, along with vegetables for the local community, while the Machair grass, which flowers on the nearby beaches in early summer, is one of the rarest habitats in the world.
Open daily 9am - 5pm Entrance free
Lip na Cloiche
Isle of Mull PA73 6LU
On the west coast of Mull, fully exposed to Atlantic gales, an enchanted garden has been created on what was a gorse-covered hillside. Protected by a shelterbelt of hebe and fuchsia hedges, borderline-hardy plants from New Zealand and Chile flourish in the mild, maritime climate.
Flowers grow alongside vegetables in a small potager and the handsome foliage of Ricinus communis and Melianthus major provide year-round interest.
Owner Lucy Mackenzie Panizzon spends her winters beachcombing along the shoreline and all kinds of flotsam have found their way into the garden as decorative objects while a small nursery offers plants raised in the garden for sale to visitors.
Open daily 8am - 6pm Entrance by donation
Armadale Castle
Isle of Skye IV45 8RS
Armadale Castle on the Sleat peninsula has 40 acres of woodland to explore, with exotic trees, four miles of nature trails and prairie-style plantings set around the Clan Donald Centre.
Parts of the garden date from the 1780s, others were designed in the 1820s when plants were starting to arrive from America, the Himalayas and beyond. Some of the tallest trees are part of an important conifer conservation project that is growing endangered species in locations across Scotland in order to preserve them for future generations.
The four miles of nature-trails that criss-cross the gardens and the wider estate is home to roe and red deer, otters, adders and golden eagles.
Open daily 9.30am - 5pm Tickets £14/£12/£8 (under 18)/free (under 5) www.armadalecastle.com
Dunvegan Castle
Isle of Skye IV55 8WI Dunvegan Castle, which stands over a rocky cliff overlooking the sea, has been occupied by Chieftains of the Clan MacLeod for more than 800 years. The gardens date back to the 17th century and over the last 15 years ongoing work has restored them to their original splendour, with new features including a lily pond and a children’s woodland play area.
Along with woodland walks, sculptures and sundials, there are water gardens, a walled garden, a rose garden and pools fed by waterfalls that tumble off the hillside enroute to the sea. Thanks to its maritime climate, many exotic plants grow within the protection of the walled garden and work on planting new trees and shrubs and transforming flower borders continues.
Open daily 10am - 5.30pm Tickets £14.50/££11.50/££9.50 (child) www.dunvegancastle.com
Raasay Walled Garden
Isle of Raasay IV40 8PB
When you live off the beaten track it makes sense to be as self-sufficient as possible and Raasay House Garden, which can be reached via a 25-minute ferry journey from Skye, grows fresh produce for islanders and for guests at Raasay House. The soil is fertilised by seaweed from the nearby beaches and any spare fruit and vegetables are sold from the Veg Shack at the entrance to the garden.
Open daily 9am-7pm Entrance by donation
Greens Garden
Orkney KW17 2QG
Green’s Garden near Kirkwall is a recently-developed garden that is being planted up with bulbs, shrubs and perennials that can cope with exposure to the sea and to the high winds that scour the island. A surprising array of plants now flourish here, with new varieties being added all the time. Creative use has been made of driftwood, stone and recycled copper and from the garden there are impressive views over St Peter’s Pool.
Open daily Entrance free
www.discoverscottishgardens.org
Waulkmill Garden
Orkney KW17 2RA
Waulkmill is a three-acre garden overlooking the sands of Waulkmill Bay. Created over the last 15 years amidst bog and heathland, the garden sits alongside Hobbister Bird reserve. The native, wild, naturalistic-style planting includes hardy plants for the windy plot and Orkney native shrubs and trees. A dipping pond, long borders and perennial planting are designed to take in the spectacular views over Scapa Flow. The St Magnus Way cuts through the land and a sculpture garden is currently under development.
Open by appointment.
In association with Discover Scottish Gardens www.discoverscottishgardens.org
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