Threave Garden and Nature Reserve
Castle Douglas
DG7 1RX
Threave House, with its baronial towers and red sandstone walls has been an imposing presence amongst the Galloway hills since 1871. It occupies a west-facing slope just south of Castle Douglas and the gardens that spread out around it were created in a large part by Major Alan Gordon, a daffodil expert, whose legacy includes an exceptional collection of rare cultivars that turn huge areas of the grounds yellow in spring.
Beyond the lawns that surround the house there are woods and orchards, areas of dense planting and wildflower meadows which support a rich variety of insect life.
Threave’s walled garden, which in summer is filled with produce, is sheltered enough to house an outdoor grapevine, while its glasshouses contain tender plants.
However Threave is an all-year-round garden and when the summer’s flowers have long-faded, the many berrying shrubs and trees add another season of colour. In recent years a large collection of hollies has grown to number more than 70 different varieties while in the heather garden the winter-flowering varieties are beginning to take on their colours.
Trees, including many mature beech and oaks, are a feature of the landscape, while an arboretum contains rare species, including majestic conifers. Tucked away behind dense shrubs and sprawling hydrangeas, still holding on to this year’s papery bracts, is a Secret Garden and close by is the Garden of Contemplation, with winding paths around beds filled with massed ferns and Box balls, and views over the surrounding countryside. This was designed by plantsman and garden designer, Brian Young.
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Threave was Scotland’s first bat reserve and it is home to eight different species including the Leisler’s bat,while frogs and palmate newts live in the ponds. At its southern edge the garden becomes a nature reserve that spreads out across the wetlands that surround the River Dee and the striking ruins of Threave Castle. Ospreys live here during the summer and in winter their place is taken by Whooper Swans that fly south from Iceland, meanwhile Red Kites are a year-round presence, performing their aerial displays in the skies above the reserve.
They share this space with Peregrine falcons and growing numbers of Marsh harriers.
Threave is a climate change monitoring station and head gardener Michael Lawrie has been working on plans that will ensure the future of the garden, including choosing trees to plant now that will thrive in 100 years, when the weather is predicted to be both wetter and warmer.
Details
Threave Garden sits off the A75 one mile west of Castle Douglas.Threave Gardens are open daily, 10am - 4pm.
Tickets: ££8.50/£7.50 The nature reserve is open daily, dawn to dusk.
Entrance is free.
In association with Discover Scottish Gardens www.discoverscottishgardens.org
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