Glenwhan Gardens

Dunragit by Stranraer

Galloway DG9 8PH

Why should we visit?

The south west of Scotland is home to some of the country’s finest gardens and Glenwhan occupies a special place amongst them. It sits on a hilltop overlooking Luce Bay with views south towards the Isle of Man and it was hacked out of gorse and heather by one woman who recognised that the combination of climate and setting provided the basis for making a unique sort of garden

The soil is wildly acidic so camellias and magnolias flourish, Candelabra primulas grow in abundance and the hydrangeas, which are in flower at the moment, relish the coastal air.

The garden spreads out across 12 acres, with a further 17 acres of moorland to explore. As well as an astonishing array of cultivated plants, more than 120 species of ferns and wildflowers grow here, attracting a wide array of insects.

Story of the garden

Tessa Knott and her late husband Bill bought Glenwhan sight-unseen in the 1970s. Once they had restored the tumbledown croft that sat amidst that bracken, Tessa turned her energies towards making a garden, using tractors to clear the undergrowth of scrub and stone.

She planted a shelter belt and, as this grew, added hundreds of hardy hybrid rhododendrons, followed eventually by species rhododendrons including R. roxieanum from China and R. yakushimanum from Japan, as well as many Southern Hemisphere plants.

Paths were made, viewpoints created and seats were placed in sunny spots. The planting is naturalistic, with the exception of the decorative vegetable garden that is lined with box hedging and presided over by a statue of a wild boar – a copy of the famous sculpture that stands in the Mercato Nuevo in Florence.

Highlights

As she started developing the ground, Tessa discovered that the boggy area at the heart of the garden was being fed by water seeping from a reservoir that had been built on the moors during the Georgian era to serve the Dunragit estate.

So, using a bulldozer, she excavated tonnes of soil, creating a water course that tumbles off the hillside and is now lined with gunnera and flag irises, while beneath this, two huge ponds are covered in waterlilies and surrounded by bulrushes.

Don’t miss

There are unusual and tender plants throughout the garden including a rare weeping form of the Chilean firebush, Embothrium longifolium pendula, which has bright scarlet flowers; an Araucaria imbricata, which is a member of the Monkey Puzzle family; Desfontainia spinosa, a rainforest native from Chile that produces waxy orange flowers, and a Telopea oreades from Southern Australia has deep crimson flowerheads.

Anything else to look out for?

A tree trail weaves its way through Glenwhan, taking visitors into shady glades and open spaces where all kinds of unusual things grow. Paths lead from the garden up onto the moors where in spring the combination of yellow broom and the bluebells that carpet the ground beneath them is one of the highlights of the garden.

Many of the plants and trees have been grown by seed and some are available for sale from the garden.

Best time to visit

Glenwhan unfolds throughout the seasons, with rhododendrons and bluebells in spring, roses and waterlilies in summer and beautiful autumn colour. The tea room at the entrance gate is open daily until the end of September

Any recommendations in the area?

Nearby Luce Bay has one of the best beaches in Scotland – seven acres of golden sand lapped by pure, clear, shallow water. Because of the effect of the Gulf Stream, the water temperature remains pleasant all year round, perfect for a paddle or a serious swim.

Directions

Glenwhan Gardens can be found seven miles east of Stranraer, on the north side of the A75.

The gardens are open daily from 10am until 5pm.

01581 400 222

Email: tess@glenwhan.co.uk

Www.Glenwhangardens.co.uk

THREAVE GARDEN

At the end of August, flowers are spilling out of the densely-packed borders at Threave in Castle Douglas. Within the walled garden grapes are ripening against a south-facing wall and the hydrangeas around the Secret Garden are in full bloom.

From rows of sweetcorn and sweetpeas, glasshouses filled with heat-loving treasures, ponds which are home to frogs and palmate newts and Dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) that tower above everything, Threave is intensively gardened.

The reason is that this is the home of the National Trust for Scotland’s School of Heritage Gardening and horticultural standards are set very high. Many of the features have been developed in order to give students, who are already experienced gardeners by the time they arrive at Threave, the chance to widen their knowledge of how to care for a diverse range of plants.

Along with a wildflower meadow there are woodland areas, an arboretum, a conifer collection, a rock garden, an orchard and broad lawns.

Recent plantings include a combination of lavender and the decorative leek, Allium sphaerocephalon in new borders close to the visitor centre, while in the Garden of Contemplation, the planting has been pared back to a soothing mix of massed ferns and Box balls.

When Major Alan Gordon gifted Threave to the NTS 60 years ago, his legacy also included a collection of rare daffodils, which bloom in early spring. More recently, Head Gardener Michael Lawrie has been adding to the garden’s already extensive collection of holly trees.

Threave Garden and Estate

Castle Douglas

DG7 1RX

In association with Discover Scottish Gardens. See discoverscottishgardens.com